You can鈥檛 catch HIV from a toilet seat.
You can鈥檛 catch HIV from kitchen utensils.
You can鈥檛 catch HIV from everyday contact with the people around you.
Old news, right? In fact, all of those points were made in , the health information pamphlet mailed to every American household by Surgeon General C. Everett Koop in 1988. But apparently the message was lost on folks at the (ADOC).
TIMELINE
The Fight Against Segregation of Alabama Inmates with HIV 禄
In 2012, ADOC still bars prisoners living with HIV from participating in a host of prison programs and activities鈥uch as working in some of the prison kitchens, and in the free-world poultry processing plant where other prisoners on work release are able to get paying jobs. Alabama officials say they know there鈥檚 no actual health risk associated with HIV-positive people working in , but that their policy is justified for 鈥渟ecurity鈥� reasons 鈥� meaning that others would react violently if a person with HIV touched their food.
ADOC also confines all male prisoners living with HIV in a designated area at , and instructs Limestone鈥檚 guards that 鈥淩outine physical contact with [HIV unit] inmates should be kept at a minimum at all times.鈥� That鈥檚 even though public health authorities have been explaining since the 1980s that routine physical contact . And when prisoners living with HIV participate in residential drug treatment programs that are supposed to provide an immersion experience, ADOC makes them return to the HIV segregation area to sleep, to eat, and allegedly even to use the bathroom.
These are among the issues in Henderson et al. v. Thomas et al., a class action lawsuit brought by the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 AIDS Project and National Prison Project, together with the , on behalf of all Alabama prisoners living with HIV. We鈥檙e arguing that ADOC鈥檚 policies of segregating and excluding HIV-positive individuals violate the and a similar federal law called the Rehabilitation Act. in the case begins today before Judge Myron Thompson in federal court in Montgomery.
It鈥檚 sickening that ADOC continues to forcefully advocate policies that fuel irrational fears about HIV transmission. It鈥檚 sad that ADOC has so little confidence in the ability of its prisoners and staff to overcome prejudice and adapt to change. It鈥檚 also silly for Alabama to claim that its policies are necessary to prevent 鈥渦nrest,鈥� when dozens of states, , have ended their prisons鈥� HIV exclusion and segregation policies without incident. And it鈥檚 chilling how much this situation calls to mind for integration and equal opportunity in the Deep South.
I鈥檓 honored to be part of the trial team in this case, and I look forward to helping prove that neither 鈥渉ealth鈥� nor 鈥渟ecurity鈥� concerns excuse blanket discrimination and pandering to ignorance.
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