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HIV Testing

Decent Essays

Fatality, death, or stigma is just a few words that come to mind when people think of HIV. HIV testing should be mandatory in our society. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a serious, incurable disease that attacks the immune system. HIV is spread through innumerable ways, such as blood, breast milk, having unprotected intercourse, or sharing needles. If people do not get treated for HIV, over time the disease progresses until the immune system is too inadequate to defend against life-threatening infections and cancers. Once this starts to happen, the person now has AIDS, which is the last and the worst state of the HIV infection. According to AIDS.gov, more than 1.2 million United States citizens are living with HIV and half are diagnosed …show more content…

Once HIV attaches to the CD4 cells, the virus then starts to infect other cells and uses them as a place to multiply. The HIV virus weakens the immune system, making it very vulnerable and easy to get infections, such as tuberculosis and meningitis. Some people might not know that they have HIV since there are no specific signs that shows a person is infected. Some HIV infected people may look and feel healthy for years before they find out they are infected. This can be very dangerous, for the HIV infected person can covertly spread the disease to other people. Many people can avoid this problem if they get checked for HIV …show more content…

Some people may feel that getting tested for HIV is a violation of their privacy and rights. According to, HIV/AIDS Tests (www.hrw.org) human rights are inextricably linked to the spread and impact of HIV on individuals and communities around the world. Some people are more vulnerable to contracting HIV because they are unable to realize their civil, political, and social rights. For instance, individuals who are denied the right to freedom of association and access to information can be prohibited from important issues, such as HIV, and taking preventative measures to protect themselves from the fatal HIV virus. Additionally, the rights of infected HIV people are also violated because of their HIV status, making them suffer not only from the virus but from the loss of their rights. Even though getting tested for HIV may violate individual’s rights, not knowing about the virus can be very deadly and people’s lives are far more important than a person possibly feeling discrimination. It is impossible to stop the spread of the HIV infection if people are unaware they have it. These infected people can unintentionally infect their loved ones, including children, therefore it is safer to get tested for

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