Essay on The Controversy Over HIV/AIDS Disclosure Law

Ever since the first cases of what eventually came to be known as AIDS were diagnosed in the early 1980s, people with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatized. Over time, there have been many misconceptions about this disease. Even though there have been many discoveries, and treatments for HIV have improved over time, there are still many people who understand very little about this disease. This lack of understanding, along with fear, misinformation about how the disease is transmitted, and “moral” judgments made about the types of people who contract HIV, all have led to stigmatization of, and discrimination against, people who are living with HIV/AIDS. Understanding the stigmatization of people with HIV/AIDS is an important social justice issue because that stigmatization can result in people with HIV being insulted, rejected, gossiped about, excluded from family and social activities, fired, and even jailed. People with HIV are no different from people suffering from other chronic diseases. Instead of being alienated, they have a right to be treated with fairness, respect, and dignity.

The AIDS epidemic began in the early to mid-1980’s and since it’s recognition in America it has become a very heated and debated topic among health professionals, the gay community, and most of all for the ones that are carrying the virus. The real debate is not over the virus itself but, rather about the infected individuals and whether or not they should be made morally obligated to tell their sexual partners if they are in fact infected. Both sides of the argument make very valid points. From one standpoint you have the gay community that believe in “safer sex ethic”, which keeps their partners in the dark about their overall health status and feel they are not morally obligated to tell their

For a person who has HIV or AIDS they may not want their friends or acquaintances knowing that they have it because usually when people find out about this kind of information they no longer will want to be around that person, especially is that they do not fully understand how HIV or AIDS is transmitted. It could also effect their ability to find a job if employers found about it due to the improper release of medical information. Information about HIV and AIDS is nothing like any other type of information, which is why it should remain confidential no matter whom the person is.

People that have AIDS or HIV are more sensitive to sharing their health information than others because it could cost them their job. The people that contract these diseases are subject to scrutiny from the public. Since people automatically think that they are gay or lesbian but they are not the only ones that can get HIV or AIDS. When a person is revealed to have HIV or AIDS, he or she may be immediately discriminated against. HIV and AIDS require lifetime treatment that is very expensive to treat (HHS.gov, 2006). Unauthorized disclosure of a person’s positive HIV or AIDS status can lead to job loss; cancellation of insurance; evictions; and loss of friends and colleagues. The United States has developed a set of standards to keep a person’s HIV or AIDS status confidential as well as their other medical conditions. This is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. All information is kept private from anyone except that person a

HIV and Aids is considered super protected medical information. HIV and Aids is a very contagious illness, which is spread by contact with bodily floods and sexual activity and drug use. It is highly protected, because most patients that get this disease does not want anyone to know, because it is a breach of their private lifestyle, their sexual preference in partners, and there are still the

Luckily, the perception of HIV has changed since then, along with the negative stigma and association with the homosexual community. Activist groups have stepped in to raise awareness to prevent the spread of HIV and allow for a knowledgeable society to emerge. They’re trying to end rumors of ignorance on transmission, which has no scientific backing. HIV cannot be transmitted through any casual contact, including drinking fountains, shaking hands, sitting on a bus, and even kissing will not transfer the virus. These activists cannot improve the

In the 1980s, a mysterious disease began to take the lives of Americans. With the cause unknown, a fear grew among Americans. An unusually high rate of people was becoming sick with strange and rare diseases. When experimental treatments failed to work, people died. This mysterious disease is what we now know as HIV–Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In the past thirty-five years, the HIV has taken many turns in history. Although we do not hear about HIV and AIDS now, it is still a prevalent issue in the United States and in the world.

Before reading this article, I had minimal knowledge of AIDs and HIVs. My basic knowledge was that they are highly contagious diseases that can result in death. I knew that it starts out as HIV, which is an immunodeficiency virus, and if it isn’t treated correctly, it will escalate into AIDs. Something that spoke

In 1991, the most renowned NBA player of the time, Magic Johnson, announced retirement at the prime of his career, leaving millions of his fans in sorrow and disappointment. It was only later did his fans find out that Johnson was one of the millions of Americans suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). HIV is a virus that interferes with the body’s ability to fight infections. If left untreated, the patient will progress into the advanced stage of the infection with symptoms that are referred to as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through shared bodily fluids, sexual contact, and from mother to fetus. There was social stigma associated with HIV. The perspective was derived from the assumption that HIV/AIDS only manifested amongst homosexuals and intravenous drug users. As such, those affected by the disease found little support from the government and political establishments. At the time, NBA player, Magic Johnson, used his public presence to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, and became a voice for those affected by the disease.

HIV is highly prevalent among the United States population, primarily affecting African Americans of all economic levels and age groups. HIV is transmissible through sexual contact and damages the immune system as it interferes with the individual’s capability to fight off any infections or illnesses. Health inequalities that greatly affect the high rates of HIV include but are not limited to: higher rates of poverty, lack of awareness, intercourse within the same sex, having anxiety towards getting tested for STD’s or HIV, as well as being fearful of “coming out”. Local, state, and nationwide organizations are designed to inform and provide assistance to those who have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. S.A.A.F. (Southern Arizona AIDS Foundation)

If a person has sexual relations with an infected partner and is aware that their partner has a STD, then this may mean an acceptance of risk. Knowingly entering

Ever since the early 21st century, there have been many stigmas and discrimination towards individuals who have contracted certain viruses such as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome). According to studies, HIV traces back to the 1920s in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as AIDS. By the 1960s, HIV had made its way to Haiti by transport routes and workers who had been temporarily staying in Congo returning to their homes. Those who had the virus dealt with extreme discrimination, as well as racism and stigma. Soon enough, the deadly disease had arrived to The United States of America, and its bountiful population did not react well. People began to associate HIV and AIDS with gay men,

Though the disease is still infecting many, new technology and medical techniques that include medication have made it possible to live a normal life after being infected with the HIV virus. Doctors are now far past the era in which they would deny care to an HIV-positive patient and that is because they are aware of the disease and are not afraid. Being afraid of something can unknowingly turn a person into a monster. Since being educated doctors and other healthcare professionals have been able to turn a new leaf and hop over to the supporting side of AIDS. Other than being under a doctor’s care, successful strategies for combating AIDS include “increasing awareness about prevention strategies such as using clean needles and condoms and, most recently, promoting male circumcision” (Conley 442). All these biological measures combating the chemical nature of AIDS work hand in hand to reform the social structure of the disease. Those living with AIDS in the United States today are not looked at as if they are lepers, instead they are view as survivors and

The people who initially knew about it were distressed as they did not know how it was contracted or how to prevent themselves from falling victim to it and medical researchers had made little progress in their analysis of the virus at that time. Once the media became aware of HIV’s existence, blame was almost immediately placed in the direction of the homosexual community as they were the first ones to be discovered as having contracted the virus and a large number of the reported cases were originally from homosexuals (Luce, 2013: 400). Soon enough, an impression was given in many newspapers and by the press that the virus was somehow a form of punishment cast upon that group by God for living the sort of lifestyle that was considered as morally wrong by society as well as various religions, and this subsequently also created a moral panic around homosexuality, even though the virus was soon discovered to also be contracted by the use of infected needles as well as heterosexual unprotected intercourse but that discovery was disregarded by the media. It was also revealed that most of the data that was released

AIDS was a widespread epidemic that ran rampant in America during the 1980’s. Without any prior knowledge of the condition, how it was spread, and certainly no