Lawmakers Seek To Roll Back ‘Irrational And Discriminatory’ HIV Measure
Some California Democrats are arguing that HIV is singled out over other communicable diseases with the legislation.
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California's Criminal Penalties For HIV Transmission Could Be Rolled Back
The state legislature decided in 1988 that somebody who donated blood while knowingly HIV-positive could be punished with up to six years in prison. Ten years later, it became a felony to have unprotected sex with the intent of transmitting HIV to a partner. Now, in 2017, a group of Democratic state lawmakers say times have changed — not that those behaviors shouldn’t be illegal, but that HIV/AIDS shouldn’t be singled out. Under California’s newly introduced Senate Bill 239, intentionally transmitting any infectious or communicable disease, including HIV, would be a misdemeanor, not a felony. (Facher, 2/13)