COLUMBUS — The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of a law requiring HIV-infected individuals to tell partners about their status before having sex.
Critics say the law unfairly singles out HIV because of outmoded stigmas against the gay community and doesn’t take into consideration current survival rates for people with HIV.
“We cannot allow the fears and confusion of the past to guide our current policy on HIV,” said Elizabeth Bonham, staff attorney at the ACLU of Ohio.
Opponents also say Ohio’s HIV assault law violates free speech rights because it focuses only on disclosure.
The Supreme Court disagreed in a unanimous decision Thursday. It concludes the law covers conduct, not speech.
Attorneys challenged the law on behalf of an Ohio man convicted of failing to tell his girlfriend he had HIV.
Hamilton County Public Defender Raymond Faller said an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is likely.