**Content Warning** This piece discusses thoughts and attempts of suicide
HIV is not a crime, or is it?
As of 2022, 35 states have laws that criminalize HIV exposure. Many of these laws are outdated and do not reflect today's scientific evidence. There are four different ways that these laws criminalize HIV. 1) Twenty-one states have laws which criminalizes or controls actions through HIV-specific statutes and regulations. 2) Fourteen states have laws which criminalize or control actions through sexually transmitted infections, communicable, and infectious diseases specific statutes. 3) Four states have sentence enhancements. 4) Thirteen states have no laws, just general criminal statutes. It is very important for an individual who has been diagnosed with HIV to know the laws in the state they live in. Continue reading...
