The legislation ( A-5673) seeks to amend existing law to downgrade this penalty to a disorderly persons offense, and also have it only apply to people who act with specific intent to transmit an infectious or communicable disease like HIV, do not attempt to prevent transmission, and pass the disease to another person. A third-degree crime is punishable by three to five years in prison, a fine of up to $15,000, or both. Under current New Jersey law, it is a crime of the third degree if a person knows that he or she is infected with AIDS or HIV and commits an act of sexual penetration without the informed consent of their partner. It’s time to repeal these laws, use science-based approaches to reduce HIV transmission, and stop discriminating against our HIV-positive neighbors.(TRENTON) – Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle has introduced legislation to decriminalize the transmission of HIV under certain circumstances. “It’s time to move beyond stigmatizing, shaming, and fearing people who are living with HIV. “These laws are discriminatory, not based in science, and detrimental to our HIV prevention goals,” said Wiener, as reported by NewNowNext. Furthermore, 58% of transgender individuals believed it is reasonable to avoid getting tested for fear of prosecution. In a recent survey, investigators found that 25% of HIV-positive respondents knew at least 1 person who refused to get tested for fear of criminal prosecution, according to NewNowNext. Of the 800 individuals, a majority were women and people of color.Īdditional ramifications of the existing law include the discouragement of getting tested. In a 2015 study by UCLA’s Williams Institute, investigators found that 800 individuals came in contact with the criminal justice system between 19 under an HIV-specific law, or under the misdemeanor exposure law. Since then, many individuals were imprisoned. It is important to note that knowingly infecting someone with HIV through rape or sexual assault would remain covered under the existing laws.Ĭalifornia passed the current law in 1988 at the height of the AIDS epidemic. “When you tell people that these laws single out HIV and only apply to people with HIV and not any other infectious disease, they pretty quickly see that it’s irrational and discriminatory,” Sen Wiener told STAT News.
The new Senate Bill 239 (SB 239) was introduced by state Sen Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and would repeal some provisions to classify the crime as a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.
Meanwhile, a person with a contagious, infectious, or communicable disease who willfully exposes themselves to another person is guilty of a misdemeanor, according to California Legislative Information. This engagement in unprotected sex is punishable by up to 8 years in state prison.įurthermore, it is a felony punishable by imprisonment for up to 6 years for individuals to donate blood, organs, and tissue (or under specified circumstances, such as breast milk or semen) if he or she has AIDS or has tested reactive to HIV. Under the current California law, it is considered a felony to knowingly infect an individual with HIV, regardless of whether coitus had been consensual. A new bill introduced by California lawmakers would amend the state’s HIV transmission criminalization laws to make them more in line with statutes for other serious communicable diseases.
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