HIV Criminalization Laws Still Defy Science, Reports Say (2014)

An article published on the website TheBody.com highlights recent calls for an end to punitive laws still on the books in a majority of states that criminalize HIV status.   Some of these laws, passed in the late 1980’s, were based on model legislation circulated by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and still reflect the fear and prejudice of the early days of the epidemic. 

More than a year after the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) called for an end HIV criminalization laws that ignore current medical science many states still threaten PLWH with long prison sentences for actions that have little to no chance of transmitting the virus.

Written by Julie "JD" Davids, managing editor for TheBody.com and TheBodyPRO.com, the article draws heavily on the new report A Roadmap for Change: Federal Policy Recommendations for Addressing the Criminalization of LGBT People and People Living with HIV, co-authored by CHLP, emphasizing the call for modernization of current laws, practices and policies that criminalize HIV exposure, nondisclosure, and transmission.