Is having HIV a crime?

Regan Hofmann thinks the Canadian justice system is unfair. Last month in Toronto, Johnson Aziga was convicted on two counts of first-degree murder and 10 counts of aggravated assault for transmitting HIV to two female partners who later died from it. He knew he was HIV positive when he had sex with the women, but he didn't tell them. We shouldn't criminalize those with HIV and add to their stigma she says. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this man was not convicted of having HIV. He was convicted of recklessly killing two people.

Then she cites a case from Dallas. An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years for harassing a public servant with a deadly weapon when he spit on a police officer. There has never been a recorded case of HIV transmission via saliva, she says. I don't know about you, but I'm not letting anyone with HIV spit on me. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt and say HIV can't be transmitted through saliva. We know it can be transmitted through blood; so what if the guy's gums were bleeding and there was some blood mixed in with that saliva? It's a deadly weapon then! Again, this man was not convicted of having HIV. He was convicted of assaulting a police officer.

She says making HIV-positive people criminals (a false premise as discussed above) will keep them from getting tested and discussing their status with sex partners. She says that's because if they don't know they have HIV, they're not culpable. What convoluted reasoning!

By the way, Regan is HIV-positive. Do you think she's so upset about this because she's planning to pass it on?


"The unhealthy criminalization of HIV." The Dallas Morning News; May 17, 2009; p. 4P.