Illinois governor signs bill repealing state statute criminalizing HIV transmission – WPSD Local 6
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Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday signed a bill into law repealing a state statute that criminalized the transmission of HIV. The move make Illinois the second state to fully decriminalize HIV after Texas, which repealed its HIV decriminalization law in 1994.
The bill Pritzker signed into law Tuesday, HB 1063, was passed by the state Senate in May, after winning House approval in April.
“Currently, individuals living with HIV face the threat of arrest, prosecution, and incarceration due to their HIV status, regardless of whether they transmit HIV to another individual,” a news release from Pritzker’s office says.
The news release says research has shown laws criminalizing HIV transmission don’t decrease infection rates, but do increase stigma. The goal of the new law is that HIV will be treated like other chronic health conditions.
The new law will remove the state’s attorney’s ability to request HIV test results in order to prosecute the charge of criminal transmission of HIV. It will also amend the AIDS Confidentiality Act so an individual’s HIV-related information or health records cannot be released or made public. The law says that information “shall not be admissible as evidence, nor discoverable in any action of any kind in any court or before any tribunal, board, agency or person.”
Supporters say the measure will also help prevent the spread of HIV by reducing the stigma that discourages some people from getting tested.
“The criminalization of HIV has harmed communities in our home state for decades. It has done nothing other than spread fear and stigma, and it discouraged people from getting tested or knowing their status,” the Illinois HIV Action Alliance said in a statement Tuesday. “This legislation was passed to bring an end to these harms and modernize how we approach this public health issue. We are very relieved to see this destructive law has finally been stricken from the books, and know this effort will help realize the priorities of the Getting to Zero Illinois plan to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030.”
Download the document below to read the bill in full.
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