At least 29 states now make it a crime to knowingly transmit or expose others to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, with a third of those states enacting laws within the last two years. Increasingly, states are mandating HIV testing for specific segments of the population, mainly prisoners and pregnant women. In Arizona, Florida, Mississippi and West Virginia, laws were recently passed to give good Samaritans and nonmedical personnel the right to ask the HIV status of the person they assist in a car accident, fire or medical emergency. More states are also strengthening programs to notify partners of infected people. In a blow to New York's powerful AIDS advocacy groups, the New York state Legislature in June passed a law that requires doctors to report the names of HIV-positive people so officials can notify their partners of potential exposure.
Experts say the new laws reflect a shift in attitudes toward people with the virus.
The laws have also been fueled by widely publicized cases of HIV outbreaks, most prominently the case of Nushawn Williams, the teen-ager who is accused of knowingly infecting more than a dozen girls and young women in upstate New York and New York City. The legislative trend is that we've moved from a period where civil rights and civil liberties for a person with HIV prevailed to a compulsory and punitive approach. Public perception has also changed because powerful new AIDS drugs have transformed what was seen as a fatal disease into a chronic condition for many people, making early testing and treatment more important, experts say. A congressional hearing on the bill is set for Tuesday. There's progress that has been made on this disease.