[ Grocery store worker may have infected 300 people with HIV, prosecutor says
Here is a question... I am not denying that keeping it a secret you have HIV is not right.. but, do we not make our own choices for sexual safety? If you have sex unprotected, you open yourself up to disease. The man who gave the victim HIV is in jail on a 250,000 bond. So what is the "crime" he committed? What legally does this fall under? What's next, a woman gets deathly ill during her pregnancy, then presses charges on the baby's father because he lied and told her he could not have kids? Now he's accountable for her illnesses? I have been an RN for years... we use universal precautions. If I use poor technique and do not protect myself and get a communicable disease, should the patient be placed in jail since he didn't tell me he has something?

Again, not stating it's OK to just go fk everyone and be a liar... but a criminal offense? ]

[ If he knew about it and didn't say anything then yes, he should be charged.
That is like lending someone your car and neglecting to say that the breaks don't work. ]

Not even close. Saying that your brakes don't work doesn't prevent you from forming romantic relationships. Saying you have HIV almost guarantees the end of a relationship.

[ Are you saying that it's perfectly fine to have unprotected sex and not disclose that you are HIV+? ]

Absolutely not. But I think it's completely unfair to expect people to not act human. Disclosure of HIV is extremely challenging, especially when you know it means rejection. To criminalize something so emotionally charged when it can be prevented by two parties, not just one, seems wrong to me.

Was the guy in the article an asshole? Absolutely. But he doesn't represent the majority of people with HIV that sometimes make mistakes because the pain of rejection is just too great.

I'd argue that having unprotected casual sex is risking spread of the disease PERIOD. That's how this disease is spread. If people would just stop having unprotected casual sex, HIV would go away. If your arguement is the burden it places on society, maybe we should just outlaw unprotected casual sex.

But that's not what this is about. It's about the lepers infringing on our rights to safe Craigslist sex.

It should also be noted, untreated HIV can cause cognitive issues that impair judgement and impulse control.

I don't understand the reluctance to share in the responsibility of HIV transmission. If doing so is such a hardship for you, why are you so willing to impose that hardship onto someone that is ill?

Me neither. My husband and I get an HIV test every year because I believe in sharing the public health burden.

I would love to get Joyous' opinion on this as I consider her our resident public health expert.

[ [I also think everyone has the right to have sex without the fear of DEATH!]

Why do you think that's a right? Do you also think you have the right to go out in public and not contract a cold? Or eat raw meat without getting salmonella? Sex has always and will always come with risks, some of them deadly. ]