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36 Am. Crim. L. Rev. 313 (1999)
Apprehending the Weapon Within: The Case for Criminalizing the Intentional Transmission of HIV

handle is hein.journals/amcrimlr36 and id is 323 raw text is: APPREHENDING THE WEAPON WITHIN: THE CASE FOR CRIMINALIZING THE INTENTIONAL TRANSMISSION OF HIV Rebecca Ruby* I. INTRODUCTION .. ....................................... 313 II. SHOULD AIDS BE TREATED DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHER PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUES? ....................................... 315 III. SHOULD THE KNOWING TRANSMISSION OF THE HIV VIRUS BE CRIMINALIZED . ........................................ 316 IV. ANALYSIS OF THE METHODS OF CRIMINALIZATION .............. 321 A. HJV-Specific Statutes ................................ 321 B. Existing Criminal Statutes Which May Be Used to Prosecute... 325 C. Problems with Elements of Intent and Existing Criminal Statutes ............................................ 330 D. HIV as an Aggravating Factor ......................... 331 V. CONCLUSION ........................................... 334 I. INTRODUCTION The reality is people are dying in epidemic numbers from AIDS. For too long, this disease has been treated as a political struggle, not a public health crisis. With the introduction of the HIV Prevention Act of 1997, some of us hope that the foolish political struggle will end, so the appropriate treatment of those infected can begin. t The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are serious threats to the public health of the United States and the world.2 Yet no one will agree on what is the best method of preventing the intentional transmission of the HIV virus. The most effective way to stem the spread of the virus is to criminalize the intentional transmission of HIV through the use of existing criminal statutes. Historically, education and counseling have been relied on to prevent the transmission of the HIV virus. These methods became more effective as more was learned about the virus and how it was spread. However, neither education nor * J.D. candidate, 1999, Georgetown University Law Center; B.A., 1996, Brown University; Administrative Editor, American Criminal Law Review, 1998-99. 1. Roderick Conrad, AIDS Affects Blacks Disproportionately, NEW PrrrSBURGH COURIER, June 7, 1997, at A7, available in 1997 WL 11699776. 2. See Rita Desouza, HIV Education is Best Protection Against Disease Compass, ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, Apr. 6, 1995, at DI0 (referring to the AIDS crisis as a public health nightmare).