Over 1 million Americans possibly are infected with the AIDS virus and the confirmed number of AIDS cases grows each year. The AIDS virus is incurable and also has a lengthy incubation period, which means a person could be infected and spread the virus long before even becoming ill. There have also been news reports about persons who were infected with the AIDS virus knowingly infecting others by not informing them that they were HIV-positive prior to sexual activity. With this in mind, should a federal registry of AIDS or HIV-positive patients be created so that one can check it prior to sexual relations with a new partner? Should these victim’s names be placed on national registry identifying them for all to know, in the same manner that
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These victims have been discriminated against in the workplace, healthcare, and even in their own communities. Author, Robert Cohen states, “Beyond press reports, I know people who have been fired from jobs, evicted from their homes, denied health insurance, or refused medical or dental care once their HIB-positive status became known” (72). For instance, these victims have lost their jobs, been denied healthcare or even been thrown out of their homes once others became aware that they were HIV-positive or had AIDS. In addition, we do not currently have any federal antidiscrimination laws in place that can that protect these victims. According to Robert Cohen, “Without a federal antidiscrimination law for people with HIV, and a commitment to enforcing this law, contact tracing will not be effective and will frighten away those the program is intended to reach” (73). In other words, forcing HIV-positive and AIDS victims to have their names placed on a federal registry without any antidiscrimination laws in place beforehand will cause them to become frightened of becoming targets for discrimination and therefore they will not cooperate with testing procedures which are in place to help them. Unfortunately, many HIV-positive and AIDS victims still experience discrimination today even though we now know more about this virus and how to control its
These victims have been discriminated against in the workplace, healthcare, and even in their own communities. Author, Robert Cohen states, “Beyond press reports, I know people who have been fired from jobs, evicted from their homes, denied health insurance, or refused medical or dental care once their HIB-positive status became known” (72). For instance, these victims have lost their jobs, been denied healthcare or even been thrown out of their homes once others became aware that they were HIV-positive or had AIDS. In addition, we do not currently have any federal antidiscrimination laws in place that can that protect these victims. According to Robert Cohen, “Without a federal antidiscrimination law for people with HIV, and a commitment to enforcing this law, contact tracing will not be effective and will frighten away those the program is intended to reach” (73). In other words, forcing HIV-positive and AIDS victims to have their names placed on a federal registry without any antidiscrimination laws in place beforehand will cause them to become frightened of becoming targets for discrimination and therefore they will not cooperate with testing procedures which are in place to help them. Unfortunately, many HIV-positive and AIDS victims still experience discrimination today even though we now know more about this virus and how to control its