Iowans Still Dealing with Legal Ramifications of AIDS
Although not the death sentence it once was, there still are both legal and social ramifications of contracting the virus. Today, on World AIDS Day, Iowa Watch and Iowa Public Radio published a report on these issues.
By Layla Pena Iowa Watch Over the past two decades, hundreds of Americans have faced criminal charges under state laws that many advocates and public health officials believe should be off the books. At least 125 individuals were prosecuted across the country under these laws during 2008-11 alone. They included men and women, gay and straight, members of the armed services, people with prior criminal records and without, people from many walks of life. What did they have in common? All were HIV-positive. At the top are videos of Iowans talking about how they live with the HIV virus. The multimedia projects were produced by Lindsey Moon of Iowa Public Radio. Read about the struggles of University of Iowa student who has to deal with the …
In this Article:
Elizabeth Ely
6:11 pm on Monday, November 12, 2012
A Tale of Two Iowans: One convicted (though sentence shortened) and still a registered sex offender, the other with charges dropped. I note that the victim in the first case gets to put his two cents in -- but whose fault is it for his suffering? The courts, perhaps? Pharmaceutical companies who have paid hundreds of millions in settlements to keep news of their crappy tests from reaching the … more ›