A colleague from another state recently wrote me about this: “A colleague of mine who lives in North Carolina told me that his Dr contacted the Health Dept. and told them that he was HIV- positive. They contacted him to tell him about NC law (that it is illegal not to disclose before having sex). Then they wanted him to sign an acknowledgement saying that they came and spoke to him and that if he breaks the law he would be prosecuted. When he refused to sign the acknowledgement from the health dept. the official took the acknowledgement to his doctor and the doctor then asked for him to sign.”
The colleague also sent me a brochure about the law in NC, of which, I must admit, I was painfully ignorant. https://www.law.duke.edu/aidsProject/400_01/NCBarHIVBrochure.pdf
I find this rather shocking; all the responsibility is put on the people living with HIV. If a woman, for example, has a spouse or boyfriend who refuses to use a condom, he could later accuse her of infecting him (even if it was the other way around, he just hadn’t been tested, or had been tested outside NC) and she would be criminalized. This is appalling. Has UNC ever challenged this law or given testimony to the legislature pointing out how the law is in conflict with basic human rights?
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2 comments:
I spoke with Dr. Strauss about this and he said that UNC cannot challenge this law and we cannot advocate. He suggested that I put you in contact with Evelyn Foust from the NC State Health Department
Evelyn Foust
evelyn.foust@ncmail.net
919-733-9490
If anyone else knows of anyone else, please feel free to post contact information :)
Vanessa
I also had a disturbing incident involing this law/document signing procedure. I was living in Orange Co., and in a relationship for three years, at the time, when a car pulled into my driveway. A Wake Co. Health Department badge was flashed. I was told, someone reported, I had unsafe sex with them. She was very vague about dates & times. She said , she could only legally go back one year. She never even called me by name. I explained, I had only had sex with one person, (my partner), in three years, (also an Orange Co. resident}, and whom I had not had any sex with in the past year. I had no idea, what she was talking about, completely clueless. She was persistant, until I signed this document. I was unable to confront my accuser because of anonymity and pressured into signing under duress. It was a modern day 'witch hunt.'I reported the incident to my physcian. It was an Immoral and Discriminative Act and The Wake Co. Health Department should be held accountable. It would not surprise me, if it was The Depatment, itself, whose actions were 'unlawful.'
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