U.S. ban on visitors with HIV could end soon

i am not defending the law but it may have been created out of a misunderstanding of how the disease was spread. the ban should be lifted though.

so long as no-one is coming to this country , with any disease , and expecting any kind of healthcare at our expense - cool.

agreed with malathion.

we have a healthcare crisis as is, I foresee footing the bill if we let people into our country who need healthcare.

Nope, I had no idea, and I'm shocked. How can such a so-called modern country discriminate like this? Do you see people with HIV/AIDs overrunning countries that do let 'them' in, all clamouring for free healthcare? No. Again, America should be ashamed of itself. I'm just glad for once the UK isn't on a list of shame like this.

Um, what's with the choice of pic by the way? That image doesn't say 'HIV/AIDs' to me...

This law should not be ended. Aids is dangerous.

i know you cant get it from breathing on someone, but if that person accidently messed up in any way. Than someone else would have aids.

Death Sentence

I used to teach HIV/AIDS education and i had NO CLUE that this was a law. I'm shocked and disgusted. How can we do that to people?

Thanks for posting this story. I really had NO idea there was a ban and I am quite shocked about it. I think HIV/AIDS urgently needs to be destigmatised, so this is a great step in the right direction.

I had no idea either! Great post, it opened a lot of people's eyes to this!

I think we need to develop a system for this. I agree that we should get over the stigma and let these people come here whree they could probably get better help for it, on the other hand i think we need to look at how they got it. if it was rape, blood transfusion, etc. let them in. If it was needle sharing or the like then i don't think so.

Check out Rick Simpson's "Run from the Cure" - www.phoenixtearsmovie.com

While I am not defending the U.S. per say, perhaps the ban WAS created because of an ignorance on their part about how the disease spreads. The ban should be lifted.

Don't let them homos in and bleed all over my America!!! ...I am just kidding...

Clayjj05. It is the law that every person in the country that has been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS has to sign a form stating that he/she has to inform every person that they have sex with of their HIV/AIDS status. I realize that this does not stop every person that has this disease from spreading it, but it does mean that there are serious consequences for doing so including prison. Being that we are supposedly so far advanced in our research of it, why are we denying people entrance to our country? Medical science has become so far advanced that they now consider cancer to be far deadlier than HIV. I myself have seen several family members and friends die from different forms of cancer. My husband was diagnosed with HIV 3 years ago. He is in perfect health and in no danger for his life. What many people do not realize is that people do not actually die from AIDS. They die from other illnesses that they get due to the lack of an immune system. There is a difference in having HIV and having AIDS. To have HIV just means that you have the virus, but they have it under control and you still have a healthy immune system. AIDS means that you have no immune system. Many people are afraid of things that they do not understand. When I informed my family of my husband's condition I had several different reactions. Denying someone the right to visit another country just because they have an illness or diease is wrong. Employers cannot legally deny a person a job if they have it, so therefore how can we deny someone the right to visit us without considering it to be discrimination?

Wow, i has no idea about this! It's unbelievable. Thanks for posting.

a story - i have a friend , a single mother , who was t-boned by an illegal immigrant , and her car was totaled . she had a broken leg . the other driver ( who caused the accident ) , also a single mom , sustained minor injuries but her 5 year old son ( who wasn't buckled , nor was she ) broke the windshield - my friend , a bartender ( and an american citizen whose family has been here since this country declared independence ) whose job didn't offer health benefits , had no life insurance , and couldn't afford private at that point , went to a state clinic which charged on a sliding scale , and was refused treatment because she fell in that category of making too much money - she wound up having to pay out of pocket at an emergency clinic and couldn't afford to go back to get the cast removed - she removed it herself , with a saw .
the illegal immigrant's son , whose injuries were life threatening , was air lifted to a nearby hospital where it was discovered facilities didn't exist to treat him properly , so he was , again , taken by helicopter to another hospital , was in that hospital for 2 months , and the illegal immigrant mother never had to pay a dime - and , unbelievably , even called my friend wanting cash , harassing her to the point my friend had to call the police .
explain to me how an illegal immigrant ( with no drivers license , no SS card , no car insurance ) can be treated to healthcare which , in real terms , amounts to , easily , $250-500k i suppose, while a citizen is denied care by her own state because she makes too much money .
oh yeah - my friend had to pay to get her own car fixed .
these kinds of things happen frequently , and immigrants , illegal or otherwise , who come here need only be poor enough and they'll get some kind of free healthcare . it's a situation which extends far beyond just HIV / AIDS .

I had no idea this type of discrimination was in place. I am utterly surprised. This reaches far beyond our poor healthcare system. This has to do with the public being mis-educated about the HIV/AIDS virus...

Speaking of which, follow the link below to learn about another form of discrimination, and how the old rumors of HIV/AIDS still flourish within our country...

http://current.com/items/89082892_red_cross_discriminat...

If an immigrant who has HIV/AIDS has sex with you and by some unlucky circumstance you contract it..Then what?

You will have then contracted a disease from someone that you had no idea the government let in.

The government will let people in, but they can not stop them from circulating into the general public and spreading diseases.

yes that is rediculous...they should be able to come here especially if they need medical treatment.

( is speechless )

I can't say I agree with this. Forget whatever conotations, HIV is a highly contagious and lethal disease. I think they should be kept out. Do we let people with tuberculocious in, or smallpox, the plague? What is the difference really? Not to mention, what if they get ill here and our already over-burdened health care system (such as it is) has to treat them at our expense. Sorry to sound cruel, but I say keep them out. We've got our own problems and it's time we recognized it.

well thanx for the post i had no idea. people are just so not properly educated when it comes to HIV/AIDS. so often they jump to quick fearful conclusions. its sad to see our govt not respecting this victims by discriminating against them.

say what you want but this is DISCRIMINTION

http://current.com/items/89082892_red_cross_discrimination

I realize this is going to be a big deal to some because of the discrimination issue, we live in such a super PC-on-steriods society now that nobody wants to be seen as discriminating (and I know it's not just gay people that get HIV). But come on, if they had scarlet fever or typhoid would you be so willing to welcome them in with open arms? There is a safety aspect here and protection of your citizens. Why take a chance?

Is that black woman supposed to be the face on HIV? What is up with that photo?
I was actually unaware of the ban of HIV positive people traveling/immigrating to the U.S. I feel slightly embarrassed that I was totally oblivious to this ridiculousness. However, I am glad this may be lifted soon.
Furthermore, it's quite silly to think that banning people with HIV will keep our country "safer" or "cleaner" or "healthier." Whatever you want to say. These people need medical treatment, and they need to have to chance to get that treatment.
I feel that our country is very ignorant to HIV/AIDS and if we do know about it, we are most of the time mis-educated on the subject.

I am going to have to NIMBY on this one...

We have pretty low rates of HIV here, I would like to keep it that way, personally.

I am not big on bigotry, but the people should have to have it printed on thier license, or have to wear a badge or something.

No, not because they are any less of a person, but because they WILL have sex with people. and a condom doesn't fully protect you.

It isn't a human rights issue, it is a Quarantine issue.

We don't let smokers in restaraunts because we don't want our lungs full of their smoke, we don't let in AIDS patients because we don't want our reproductive organs full of their virus.

Hell yeah, we should take care of them, though. We should spend big bucks on hospitals made especially for treating the disease... in africa, or mexico.

I mean, you wouldn't want someone with SARS to enter the country, would you?

Do the American Government test people for HIV before entering the country.The ban was a strategic decision before the disease blow out of control.It was done to protect it's people.Now doing so is discriminating against people with the disease.

I had no idea that such a law existed, but it seems like a good idea erring on the side of caution and protection of our citizens, which is the government's job.

The fewer infected people in our society the better. What 's that you say, HIV/AIDS doesn't spread? Then how did the people that have it get it in the first place?

With all do respect, the lower the odds of creating and epidemic the better.

wow "damnneargenius." I think you need to read a book. Read about the epidemic of HIV/AIDS, do some research, and maybe you'll find out how it's been spreading in countries outside of the U.S.

Maybe you'll see about how many women are infected with the virus from rape, and because they (men and women) don't received any sex education.

Haha, I can't believe you just said that hahahha

Furthermore, a lot of these people are trying to get the health care they aren't able to get in their country. Ever think about that?