Two hearings were held on Tuesday to protect the rights of Ohioans living with HIV.
Ohio Rep. Sara Carruthers (R-Hamilton) provided sponsor testimony in the Criminal Justice Committee for House Bills 498 and 513. The legislation aims to bring six Ohio laws affecting individuals living with HIV more in line with modern science and research.
Carruthers highlighted that the medical community has made significant advances that keep the public safe, but that Ohio laws have not kept pace with the science.
“For example, we now know that a person living with HIV, on effective treatment, cannot transmit HIV to their partners sexually,” she said.
HB 498 – “To remove criminal offense related to donating blood with AIDS virus”
HB 498 would repeal the language in the Ohio Revised Code that currently charges individuals living with HIV with a fourth-degree felony if they sell or donate their blood or blood plasma knowing that it is being accepted for possible transfusion to another individual.
“These restrictions and criminal penalties were created decades ago when very little was known about HIV and HIV transmission, but science and medicine now tell us what we didn’t know then,” Carruthers said.
Carruthers assured committee members that blood collection agencies confirmed that they have protocols and practices for screening and testing all blood received from donations, ensuring that the blood supply remains safe.
“The American Red Cross sent me a letter earlier this year saying, ‘Criminalization is not an FDA-recommended measure; the Red Cross does not rely on criminalization to protect the blood supply; instead, we carefully follow federal FDA guidelines for blood collection and testing,’” Carruthers said.
Committee members had few questions about HB 498. Rep. Jeff LaRe (R-Violet Twp) asked how the bill might change perceptions of donating blood.
“It will change the perception [because people will see] that [HIV] is just a virus,” Carruthers replied. “It is not a life sentence and these are not bad people.”
She then gestured towards the gallery behind her, which was filled with individuals wearing red shirts advocating for modernizing Ohio’s HIV laws.
“As you can see, these are not bad people,” Carruthers said.
HB 513 – “To revise criminal and disciplinary provisions relating to HIV, AIDS”
HB 513 is an expansive bill that would reform or repeal several state laws currently criminalizing living with HIV, including:
- Repealing the law that imposes a felony charge on those who engage in sexual conduct before disclosing their HIV status.
- Repealing mandatory testing requirements for people accused of committing felonious assault and causing someone to come into contact with their bodily fluids.
- Eliminating several felony enhancements—extra penalties—for people living with HIV, including for people engaging in sex work after an HIV diagnosis.
- Providing an expungement process for those previously convicted of HIV-specific felonious assault and a process for individuals to be removed from the sex-offender registry due to an HIV-specific felonious assault conviction.
- Removing stigmatizing and inaccurate language.
- Providing protections against non-consensual HIV testing and HIV information disclosure.
The only question about the hundreds of pages in HB 513 came from Rep. Cecil Thomas (D-Cincinnati), who was confused.
“I thought there was a law already in place that if you have AIDS and you do not tell the other person and you pass that AIDS on to that individual, that there was a law already in place to address that,” Thomas asked. In his question, he conflated HIV and AIDS, a practice HB 513 specifically attempts to phase out.
“No, that’s what this [bill] is,” Carruthers replied. “To repeal that.”
Advocates respond
HIV decriminalization advocates were pleased that years of work had finally resulted in Tuesday’s hearings.
“I am so happy that we finally have a voice and legislators recognize how outdated these six laws are,” said Kelly Bean, steering committee member for Ohio Health Modernization Movement (OHMM), a coalition of advocacy groups and community leaders.
Bean said that the hearing helped create a base of understanding of the need to modernize these laws.
Next steps for the bill would be to have proponent testimony.
“We will be asking Chair [Cindy] Abrams (R-Harrison) for a second hearing this year and hope to have the opportunity to have our medical professionals expound on scientific advancements in HIV treatment and living with HIV [to] demonstrate just how outdated these laws are,” Bean said. 🔥
IGNITE ACTION
- To access contact information for members of the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee, click here.
- To read the OHMM (“Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio: Analysis of Court Cases from 2014 to 2020”) report, click here.
- To read the Williams report (“Enforcement of HIV Criminalization in Ohio HIV-related criminal incidents from 2000 to 2022”), click here.
- To access The Buckeye Flame’s full 2024 guide to Ohio’s LGBTQ+ legislation, click here.
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