title: AIDS Panic in the Twenty-First Century: The Tenuous Legal Status of HIV-Positive Persons in America.
abstract: Thirty-four states criminalize HIV in some way, whether by mandating disclosure of one's HIV status to all sexual partners or by deeming the saliva of HIV-positive persons a "deadly weapon." In this paper, we argue that HIV-specific criminal laws are rooted in historical prejudice against HIV-positive persons as a class. While purporting to promote public health goals, these laws instead legally sanction discrimination against a class of persons.
authors.affiliation: Mayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, 200 1st St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. rcockerill@mednet.ucla.edu.
authors.forename: Richard G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Cockerill
authors.affiliation: Perelman School of Medicine, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania, 415 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Lance
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wahlert
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; D003416:Criminal Law; D030881:Disclosure; D015658:HIV Infections; D006679:HIV Seropositivity; D006801:Humans; D010200:Panic; D011287:Prejudice; D011634:Public Health / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D012463:Saliva; D014481:United States; D054041:Weapons
keywords: AIDS; Bioethics; Criminal law; Criminalization; HIV