US: One of six complainants in Texas Philippe Padieu case releases book, local news interviews her and Padieu

Seven Years Later: Perpetrator and Victim in HIV Trial Speak Out

Diane Reeve’s private life was laid bare in a very public trial several years ago, and with nothing left to hide she is releasing a book to share what she’s learned and to inspire others.

In “Standing Strong: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Sisterhood and the Court Case That Made History,” Reeve talks about her relationship with Philippe Padieu and the trial that resulted in his conviction for having unprotected sex with multiple women without telling them he was infected with HIV.

Reeve dated Padieu for several years and thought their relationship was exclusive. She later led efforts to track down and coordinate women he’d infected with HIV and helped police and prosecutors build their case. She formed friendships with some of the other women.

“We kept a predator from continuing to victimize women,” Reeve said. “That’s the part of it that I feel most accomplished about, because he’s not out there anymore hurting anybody and I could not have lived with myself if I had allowed that to continue.”

Padieu is serving his 45-year prison sentence at a facility in Tennessee Colony, Texas, where he said he is part of a faith-based ministry and mostly keeps to himself.

He still believes his trial was unfair.

“I had no expert witness at my trial, I had no real attorney, I had a state appointed attorney,” Padieu said in a recent interview.

“My trial attorney died and I am filing habeus corpus on the second chair attorney,” Padieu said. “They pretty much sold me out – they didn’t investigate, they were useless, they just went with the prosecution version.”

Padieu is 60 years old, and is not eligible for parole until 2030.

Reeve said she did not write the book just to re-hash the trial, but also to raise awareness about the growing number of women being infected with HIV, and to inspire others who may find themselves in seemingly impossible situations.

“For a long time, I couldn’t touch it because it was too raw,” she said. “But I began to see the importance of making sure that the story got told for other people to help give them courage.”

Reeve launched the website Date Stronger to help women learn to protect themselves both physically and emotionally while dating, and “Standing Strong” is set for release in April.

See also http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Sex-As-a-Weapon-The-Movie.html

Czech Republic: Prague Public Health Authority initiates criminal prosecutions of 30 gay men living with HIV following an STI diagnosis

Late last month, Prague’s Public Health Authority initiated criminal investigations against 30 gay men living with HIV that had been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (STI) during the previous year.

The Public Health Authority appear to believe that since these men acquired an STI this is proof that they must have practiced condomless sex and have therefore violated Sections 152 and 153 of the Czech Criminal Code, which a 2005 Supreme Court ruling confirmed could be used to prosecute any act of condomless sex (including oral sex) by a person living with HIV as “spread of infectious diseases”.

There are no individual complainants in these cases.

The Czech AIDS Society responded to the publication of initial media reports on January 26th, with a press release that highlighted:

  • They have already begun to provide legal counseling to several of these men.
  • Most of them have an undetectable viral load and/or only have sex only with other men living with HIV (known as ‘serosorting’).
  • Being diagnosed with an STI does not, in and of itself, prove that condomless sex took place because most STIs can be acquired even when condoms are used.
  • Fear of punishment will lead to people living with HIV and at risk of a sexually transmitted infection not getting tested or treated.

“Czech AIDS Society has long struggled against the criminalisation of the private life of people living with HIV in cases where there is no HIV transmission. We believe that the HIV epidemic must be fought not through repression, but through the treatment which, in most cases, reduces the viral load of HIV-positive patients to undetectable levels thus eliminating the risk of transmission.”

They went on to make a number of media appearances pointing out that applying criminal law to potential HIV exposure does not reduce the spread of HIV, undermines HIV prevention efforts, promotes fear and stigma, punishes behaviour that is not blameworthy and ignores the real challenges of HIV prevention in the Czech Republic.

They also published a second press release, entitled “Professional failure of public health officials” on February 10th that was strongly critical of the actions of Prague’s Public Health Authority, noting that they have greatly undermined trust in the confidentiality of the public health system which will likely lead to an increase in new HIV infections.

On February 12th, the head of Prague’s Public Health Authority, Ms. Zdenka Jagrova (pictured above), issued a statement in response, suggesting that the Authority is legally obliged to initiate such criminal complaints and that “it would be a professional failure if [we] did not do so…

[We] did not check sexual orientation of HIV-positive people who got infected with another contagious, sexually transmitted disease. It is not an attack on the gay community, but in 2014 no HIV-positive woman in Prague was diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease. A public health authority is obliged to protect the public health of the population and must act in the same manner as in case of other infectious diseases, for instance TB….This campaign aiming at questioning our practices is clearly intended to assert alleged rights of a minority at the expense of the rights of the majority, i.e. in particular the right to health, irrespective of who and how threatens the health. We consider attempts to create a privileged group that would be excluded from generally defined responsibilities very dangerous.”

A number of organisations representing communities of people living with and affected by HIV are now working together with UNAIDS to support the Czech AIDS Society, including the circulation of a Change.org petition.

It appears that none of the cases have yet been passed to the Public Prosecution office for formal prosecution.  However, the investigation has set a dangerous precedent and we understand that public health departments in other regions of the Czech Republic are now considering following the Prague example.

Canada: Academic article explores problematic police and media practices relating to allegations of HIV non-disclosure, proposes solutions

Kyle Kirkup explores Canadian police and media practices that stigmatize people living with HIV (PLWH) and facilitate the public’s belief that HIV and PLWH are dangerous. In support, Kirkup analyzes the 2010 case of an Ottawa man living with HIV arrested for sexual assault, which involved the public release of the man’s identity, photo, sexual health, and sexual encounters in an article headlined “Have you had sex with this man?”

The ensuing discourse of gay male sexuality using tropes from the HIV epidemic in the 80s illustrates, Kirkup argues, how a lack of police and media regulation and education continue to produce a punitive and isolating environment for PLWH.

Kirkup proposes several strategies for reform, including expanding publication bans and non-disclosure legislation, changing police ethics to keep private information out of the hands of journalists, educating journalists and public officials about the medial realities of HIV transmission risk and medical prognosis, and abandoning the “aggravated sexual assault” charge based on HIV status.

Canada: New film explores the impact of using sexual assault law to prosecute HIV non-disclosure

This week sees the release of an important new short film from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network.

Consent: HIV non-disclosure and sexual assault law interrogates whether criminalising HIV non-disclosure does what the Supreme Court of Canada believes it does – protect sexual autonomy and dignity – or whether, in fact, it does injustice both to individuals charged and to the Canadian criminal justice system’s approach to sexual violence.

Produced together with Goldelox Productions, with whom the Legal Network also collaborated on their powerful 2012 documentary’ Positive Women: Exposing Injustice, this 28-minute film features eight experts in HIV, sexual assault and law whose commentary raises many questions about HIV-related legal developments in Canada.

At a time when society seems to be taking the prevalence of sexual

violence and rape culture more seriously, this film dares to ask some

difficult questions about its limits in the law. The law of sexual

assault is intended to protect women’s sexual autonomy, equality

and dignity, yet as applied with respect to alleged HIV non-disclosure,

these values are not necessarily being advanced. Through expert

testimonies, Consent shines a light on the systemic obstacles women

face in disclosing their HIV status, points to the dangerous health

and human rights outcomes of applying such a harsh charge as

aggravated sexual assault to HIV non-disclosure, and makes the

argument that the law needs to better protect those who are living

with and vulnerable to HIV. Consent demonstrates that advocacy

efforts opposing the overly broad criminalization of HIV non-disclosure

must address the use of sexual assault law and that such efforts must

do so alongside feminist allies.

From: http://www.consentfilm.org/about-the-film/

The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network has for some time been exploring the implications of using sexual assault law to prosecute HIV non-disclosure cases, given the marked differences between the types of conduct that are typically referred to as sexual assault (including rape) and HIV non-disclosure cases.

In April 2014, the Legal Network convened leading feminist scholars, front-line workers, activists and legal experts for a ground-breaking dialogue on the (mis)use of sexual assault laws in cases of HIV non-disclosure. Consent: HIV non-disclosure and sexual assault law was filmed during this convening.

Their analysis demonstrates that the use of sexual assault law in the HIV non-disclosure context – where the sexual activity is consensual other than the non-disclosure – is a poor fit and can ultimately have a detrimental impact on sexual assault law as a tool to advance gender equality and renounce gender-based violence.

The Consent website ( in English / in French ) also lists future screenings across Canada, which will be accompanied by panels and workshops, as part of an ongoing strategy to build up allies among women’s rights advocates for the longer-term work.

A discussion guide will also soon be available.

US: Should we criminalize HIV? [Op-ed, St Louis American]

By Opal Jones and Theodore (Ted) Kerr | Posted: Wednesday, August 19, 2015 8:47 pm

In the last month we saw Michael Johnson, a 23-year-old black college student, sentenced to 30-plus years in prison on HIV criminalization-related charges. David Magnum was also sentenced to 30-plus years in prison, and Robert Smith has been held on $50,000 bail for attempting to expose a person to HIV.

This is part of a disturbing trend: an ongoing criminalization of people living with HIV, at the same time as more people are living with HIV in Missouri. This prompts us to ask: Is criminalization how to deal with HIV?

As the president and CEO of Doorways, an interfaith organization providing housing and supportive services for people living with HIV/AIDS, and a Doorways volunteer, we say no.

Every day we see how support for people living with HIV is what is needed to end the epidemic, not criminalization, something echoed in a 1987 op-ed printed in this paper, “AIDS is a public health problem, not one that should be criminalized.” Written before MO. REV. STAT. § 191.677 was passed, the op-ed illustrates that even when less was known about the virus, it was understood that isolation and penalization were not answers to the crisis.

Yet, since 2008, we have seen more than 15 prosecutions and arrests for HIV exposure in Missouri. Meanwhile, the number of people living with HIV in the state is increasing. In 2008, 9,877 people in Missouri were living with HIV; by 2013, the number rose to 11,704. While this reflects the good work Doorways and other care providers are doing – people with HIV are living longer – it also indicates there has not been a significant drop in new cases.

Anecdotally, we see the majority of those charged for failure to disclose are black men, and an article in the Journal of AIDS Behavior reports “sentences of black individuals arrested for HIV exposure were significantly more severe than the sentences of their white counterparts.” Black people already bear a heavier burden of HIV. According to the Center of Disease Control, “the estimated rate of new HIV infections among blacks/African Americans (68.9) was 7.9 times as high as the rate in whites (8.7).”

Missouri’s HIV criminalization law – and similar ones existing in 33 other states – fly in the face of what has been learned about HIV in the last three decades. This exceptional dehumanization of people makes it harder for people with HIV to receive and maintain care, making criminalization a leading driver in the ongoing epidemic.

When entering into an intimate relationship, we believe that people should clearly communicate and disclose their status. However, people are being imprisoned based on a law that dictates it is 100 percent up to the person living with HIV to disclose their status and prove the disclosure, releasing other willing partners of responsibility. This may be unrealistic to prove and is not applicable for any other medical condition.

Medical advances have made it possible for people living with HIV to have an undetectable viral load, making it nearly impossible to transmit the virus. But to be undetectable, you need what for 27 years Doorways has been providing to people who need assistance: stable housing, access to care and hope.

But we can’t do our job if people living with HIV do not know their status. Reasons we hear for not getting tested: fear of a positive status being confirmed; not knowing where to go for care; not wanting to have to disclose “risky” behaviors and partners to authorities; and people often do not get tested because of the burden of knowing. The earlier someone knows their status, the sooner they are able to make treatment decisions and adapt to being someone with a communicable condition.

If we are worried about HIV, we need to come up with something better than criminalization.

Opal Jones is president and CEO of Doorways. Theodore (Ted) Kerr, a Masters student at Union Theological Seminary, is a Doorways volunteer.

Prison time for HIV?

Prison time for HIV? It’s possible in Veracruz

El Daily Post, August 6th 2015

New legislation passed by the Veracruz state Congress calls for up to five years in prison for “willfully” infecting another with HIV, which can lead to AIDS. The measure is fraught with legal, medical, public health and human rights problems, but supporters insist it will help protect vulnerable women.

 

The Veracruz state Congress has unanimously approved legislation that calls for prison time for anyone who intentionally infects another person with the HIV virus or other sexually transmitted diseases.

The amendment to the state penal code makes Veracruz the second Mexican state (after Guerrero) to criminalize the sexual transmission of illnesses. Another 11 states have sanctions in the books for infecting others with “venereal diseases,” a term and concept no longer used in the medical community.

But Veracruz has stipulated a more severe punishment than the other states — from six months to five years in prison. Guerrero also has a maximum of five years, but it’s minimum is three months.

The bill was promoted by Dep. Mónica Robles Barajas, a member of the Green Party, which is allied with the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party. She said the legislation is aimed at protecting women who can be infected by their husbands.

“It’s hard for a woman to tell her husband to use a condom,” she said in an interview with the Spanish-language online news site Animal Político.

The legislation, however, raises serious questions, both legal and medical, as well as concerns about human rights.

The most obvious problem is the notion of “intentional” infection. Robles emphasizes that the bill is based on a “willful” passing of the virus, which she defines as a carrier having sexual relations when he or she is aware of his or her HIV infection.

But the notion of intentionality in such cases is a complicated one for prosecutors, legal experts say. The he-said/she-said factor can be a sticking point, according to Luis González Plascencia, a former head of the Mexico City human rights commission, with the accusation likely to be based on one person’s testimony.

“There could be ways to show through testimony that there was an express intention to infect,” González told Animal Político. “But that’s always going to be circumstantial.”

A likely abuse of the law, he said, is attempted revenge or blackmail. An angry spouse or other partner can, with a simple declaration, create a legal nightmare.

Even if the issue of intentionality can be overcome, the very notion of criminalizing HIV infection is controversial. AIDs and human rights experts are against it.

One of them is Ricardo Hernández Forcada, who directs the HIV-AIDS program at Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission (CNDH). International experience, he says, indicates that punitive policies accomplish little besides government intrusion into private life. (Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia are regions where laws similar to the new one in Veracurz have existed.)

A Veracruz non-governmental organization called the Multisectoral HIV/AIDS Group issued a communiqué in response to the new legislation, declaring, “Scientific evidence shows that legislation and punishment do not prevent new infections, nor do they reduce female vulnerability. Instead, they negatively affect public health as well as human rights.”

González concurred. “The only thing that’s going to happen is that there will be another crime in the penal code that won’t accomplish anything except generate fear,” he said.

The Multisectoral Group also pointed out a disconnect between the law and medical science. It’s  virtually impossible, the group says, to determine with certainty who infected whom with a sexually transmitted disease.

“Phylogenetic analyses alone cannot determine the relationship between two HIV samples,” the group said in its release. “They cannot establish the origin of an infection beyond a reasonable doubt, or how it occurred, or when it occurred.”

Robles, for her part, objects to the notion that the legislation criminalizes HIV carriers, insisting that the target is the intentional infection of another through sex. She emphasized that the aim of the new law is to protect women, who are often in a vulnerable situation.

“It’s directed much more at protecting women than homosexual groups,” she said. “There is a high incidence among women because there is no awareness of the risk they run.”

Opponents, however, see the new law as a step backward for men and women, and for public health in general, insisting that penalization comes at the expense of prevention.

“Knowing that they could be at risk of prosecution, people won’t get tested,” the CNDH’s Hernández Forcada said. “These measures inhibit people’s will to know their diagnosis.”

US: As college student, Michael Johnson, 23, is sentenced to 30 1/2 years for HIV exposure, advocates organise and condemn Missouri’s HIV-specific law as ‘barbaric’

Yesterday, Michael Johnson, 23, was sentenced to 30 1/2 years in prison after being found guilty on May 14th of five counts stemming from the accusations of three people who said he exposed them to the virus without their knowledge.

For the most serious charge, recklessly infecting another with HIV, Johnson will serve 30 years in prison. The remaining four charges, for HIV ‘exposure’, carried sentences of 5.5, 5.5, 5.5 and 14 years. Johnson will serve his sentences concurrently, meaning he will spend a total of 30 1/2 years in prison.

Mr Johnson’s case created considerable attention from HIV, gay and social justice advocates, such as this open letter from black gay men, and the press release from The Center for HIV Law and Policy below.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 15th July), the Counter Narrative Project, HIV Prevention Justice Alliance and Positive Women’s Network – USA will hold a webinar to provide an update on the current on-the-ground efforts to support his appeal and a discussion of advocacy strategy from a legal, media, intersectional and activism perspective.

Click on this link to register for Michael L. Johnson: Strategizing collectively for justice.

Sentencing of Missouri College Student in HIV “Exposure” Case Decried As “Barbaric” 

Antigua & Barbuda: 'Intentional HIV spread' rumours lead to calls for HIV-specific criminal law

The head of a local HIV/AIDS advocacy group is calling for residents to be more mindful of their sexual behaviour amidst rumors that people are intentionally spreading the HIV virus to others. The advice comes from Executive Director of the Antigua & Barbuda HIV/AIDS Network Inc (ABHAN) Eleanor Frederick.

“We cannot stop sending the message out there that HIV is alive and well and that we have to protect ourselves,” she said.

“Each person must take responsibility. First know their status and know their partner’s status. Use protection.”

An email to OBSERVER media from the Attorney General’s office stated that the Minster, Steadroy “Cutie” Benjamin, was recently presented with information to suggest that several residents have been intentionally infecting others with HIV.

In light of the allegations, an anonymous group of concerned citizens have called on Benjamin to enact laws to hold the culprits accountable.

“The group said that such vicious actions, in their estimation, is a matter of national security, and many lives are at risk and action needs to be taken soonest,” the missive read.

Benjamin, who is the country’s national security minister said he has promised that further research will be done to see what laws can be introduced to deal with the situation.

He is calling on members of society to protect themselves.

Frederick said she would support any move to criminalise the intentional spread of HIV/AIDS.

“I think it’s something that needs to be looked at. It’s not always a deterrent because when people are intent they couldn’t care less. There are those that decide they’re going to infect someone no matter what and there are others who will think twice about it, so we have to put something there,” she said.

Several countries across the world already have legislation condemning the intentional or reckless infection of another person with the HIV virus.

Some areas of the US have enacted laws expressly to criminalize HIV transmission or exposure, charging those accused with criminal transmission of HIV.

Others, including the United Kingdom, charge the accused under existing laws with crimes such as murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, or assault.

Canada: Mainstream magazine covers the problematic link between 'treatment as prevention' and overly broad HIV criminalisation

Transmission Control

HIV non-disclosure laws do more harm than good

From the June 2015 magazine

Testing HIV positive is no longer a death sentence—a fact that stands as one of the great medical achievements of the twentieth century. The United Nations aims to diagnose 90 percent of all HIV infections worldwide by 2020, deliver antiretroviral therapy to 90 percent of those who test positive, and suppress the virus in 90 percent of those treated. If these goals are met, the AIDS epidemic could be over by 2030.

The UN strategy owes a significant debt to Canadian research—particularly that of Julio Montaner, who was among the first scientists to establish highly active antiretroviral therapy as the standard of care for HIV, back in the mid-1990s. Sustained use of HAART suppresses the virus’s ability to replicate, eventually decreasing the concentration of HIV cells in the blood to undetectable levels and delaying the onset of symptoms and eventual progression to AIDS.

Regrettably, our legal system has not kept pace with these advances.

Montaner conducts his research in Vancouver, which was among the hardest-hit communities in North America in the early ’90s. The British Columbia government soon became an enthusiastic supporter of HAART and quickly rolled out antiretroviral-therapy coverage across the province. Between 1996 and 2009, the number of people taking HAART increased more than sixfold. Accordingly, the rate of AIDS-related deaths in the province plummeted 80 percent.

In their efforts to treat the virus, the researchers had stumbled upon a way to control its spread, too: when antiretroviral treatment reduces the virus in a patient’s bloodstream, it also reduces the virus to undetectable levels in sexual fluids and dramatically decreases the risk of transmission. Studies indicate that, among gay men, an undetectable viral load decreases the risk for unprotected receptive anal sex from 1.4 percent to almost zero. When it comes to the spread of HIV, a low viral load (between zero and 0.05 viral copies per millilitre) is more effective at preventing transmission than wearing a condom is.

Once the epicentre for new cases, BC has been enormously successful at controlling the HIV epidemic, using this Treatment as Prevention strategy, or TasP. The rate of new infections is now below the Canadian average. For the past decade, Montaner has been calling for national and international prevention strategies modelled on BC’s success with TasP. But what seems like sound medical advice could inadvertently put Canadian patients at legal risk. This is because we have one of the most aggressive legal approaches to HIV non-disclosure in the world. We are second only to the US in prosecutions.

HIV-positive Canadians who don’t reveal their status before they have intercourse can be charged with aggravated sexual assault. Conviction carries with it a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory listing on the national registry of sex offenders. Between 1989 and early 2015, 176 people, in 188 separate cases, were prosecuted for non-disclosure, and more than half of the cases led to conviction.

Yet many of those convicted did not transmit the virus to the plaintiff. To be found guilty, a defendant need only have knowingly exposed his or her partner to what the courts deem a “realistic possibility” of transmission. Since there are no prosecutorial guidelines that define a low viral load, interpretations vary widely from case to case. And so it is possible that a properly medicated HIV-positive sexual partner might be convicted under the law, even if his viral load is so low as to reduce the possibility of transmission to a statistically negligible level.

The non-disclosure law originated with the 1998 Supreme Court decision in R v. Cuerrier, at a time when death rates were skyrocketing and policy-makers were scaling up testing and treatment. Proponents of the law argue that it helps protect people from malicious exposure to HIV.

The feeling on the ground is very different: since the law punishes only those who knowingly put partners at risk, it might encourage some at-risk Canadians to remain ignorant about their medical status. Evidence is sparse when it comes to this chilling effect, but even researchers such as Montaner agree that the law “creates a counterproductive environment.”

There is also a growing number of allegations that health authorities have not been forthcoming when it comes to informing patients of the legal risks associated with being HIV positive. Though BC’s 2014 testing guidelines lay out explicitly the requirement for informed consent, they don’t advise practitioners to address the issue of non-disclosure criminalization before testing. The province’s public-health officer, Perry Kendall, says this is intentional. Public-health practitioners are not legal experts, he says, noting that the longer and more complex the preliminary conversation, the less likely the patient will be to go through with testing.

While there is little systematic collection of information about testing experiences, Micheal Vonn of the BC Civil Liberties Association says she has received a number of complaints from patients, particularly pregnant women, who claim they were tested without consent. Vonn, alarmed by these allegations, plans to investigate further.

Another human-rights advocate, Richard Elliott of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, believes clearer guidelines are essential to ensuring that those who are tested are sufficiently aware of the legal risks. He notes that physicians’ records have been subpoenaed in court to support convictions for non-disclosure.

The unfortunate irony here is that the very laws intended to prevent further transmission of HIV may actually promote its spread—by discouraging testing and, by extension, impeding the work of the successful TasP program. Seventeen years after the Supreme Court’s 1998 decision, Canadian lawmakers must ensure that our policy of criminalizing non-disclosure does not serve to punish those who opt for life-saving HIV therapy and treatment.

US: Alabama lawmaker's proposal to increase 'knowing' HIV/STI transmission to a felony likely to resurface in 2016

People with sexually transmitted diseases who knowingly spread infection to their partners could face prison time, if a bill now in the Legislature becomes law.

Proposed by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, the bill would make knowingly transmitting an STD a Class C felony if passed; it’s currently a misdemeanor. Some advocates worry, though, that the bill might have unintended consequences that make it harder to fight the spread of disease.

Givan said her goal was to target those who intentionally put the lives of others at risk. The bill was inspired by calls Givan received following a case involving Montgomery pastor Juan McFarland. “This gentleman knew he had HIV and decided to engage in sexual relationships with multiple women, which could lead to their deaths,” she said.

Some of those women were reluctant to speak out because the charge McFarland could have faced was only a misdemeanor, she said.

“They said ‘I might want to come forward, but there’s not enough strength in the current law. I would have made myself a public spectacle for no reason,’” Givan said the women told her.

AIDS Alabama policy chief Lauren Banks worries that the proposed law could do more harm than good, though.

“By and large this law is not helpful.  It stigmatizes HIV or a person with an (sexually transmitted infection) even more,” Banks said. “It would police the bedroom.”

Under current law, those convicted of the misdemeanor offense would face no more than 90 days in jail, Givan said. Offenders might get out on time served.

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” said Givan.

Banks, who has worked with Givan to modify the bill, worries that the original version does not specify which STDs would be included in the law. Some infections, she noted, can be spread even when using condoms, such as human papilloma virus and herpes.

“So even safe sex could be criminalized,” Banks said.

Banks also said if the bill passes it could cause fewer people to get tested for STDs.

“Other states that have enacted these laws have seen negative fallout because once you know your status, you are culpable. But we want people to know their status. We don’t want people to be afraid of what could happen to them.”

Banks suggested another way to counteract rising STD rates.

“If anything, we should focus on creating sexual health education curricula for our schools that is age-appropriate and medically accurate,” she said. “Let’s be preventative and not punitive.”

Eric Guster, a Birmingham attorney who frequently comments on criminal issues, said the consequences of tougher sentencing should be considered.

“If a person is found guilty,  a first-time offender would receive a possible sentence of a year and day to 10 years in prison,” he said.

Guster said he’d want the bill to specify the diseases mentioned. He pointed out several  problems with enforcing the law.

“The misdemeanor is rarely used because people don’t want to put their sexual history on display,” he said.  “When you’re speaking of STDs, people go to the doctor, get treated and then move on with their lives.”

Also, the burden of proof would be steep.

“The affected person has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that that partner gave them the disease and that’s the only sexual partner they’ve had who could’ve done it,” he said.

Making knowingly transmitting an STD a felony without creating stiffer penalties for certain types of diseases also raised concerns for Guster.

“When you have cases where younger people have a disease that is easily transferable, that puts a lot of students at risk for felonies for just doing things teenagers do,” Guster said.

Givan said she has received calls of support from colleagues on both sides of the aisle. She and Banks also discussed possible changes to the bill.

“Juandalynn tried to meet us halfway with amendments such as transmission has to occur, and a disclaimer that if you tell your partner you have HIV, you would be exempt from prosecution if they were infected,” said Banks.

The bill, however, has not moved since the beginning of the legislative session in March, and appears to be running out of time for passage this year.

Givan said she changed the bill late last week and expected it to be the first one “in the hopper to go out for sponsorship next year.”

“I want safeguards in place,” she said. “I think it’s a piece of legislation that is needed. I just want to be sure we do it the right way.”