HIV+ Ban Lifted in the United States
This is a major milestone for HIV research in my book. My hero, President Barack Obama said today that on Monday he plans to lift the 20-year-old ban on HIV positive people entering the United States. The ban should be lifted in 2010 after a 60 day waiting period.
No major international AIDS conference has been held in the U.S. since 1993, because HIV-positive activists and researchers cannot enter the country.
The ignorance and fear about HIV led to ban of people from entering the US who was considered positive. This kept out students, tourists, refugees, and children who could have been adopted. HIV was the only medical condition explicitly listed under immigration law as grounds for not entering the US.
The turning around of this ignorance will help other countries and people realize HIV should not be quarantined or discriminated against. These are humans who have HIV/AIDS and we really need to stop the harsh discrimination.
Obama also signed a bill today to extend the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program which started in 1990. Ryan White was a 13 year old teenager who caught the virus from a blood transfusion who turned into an AIDS activist but died at the age of 18. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program will help provide medical care, meds, as well as support to half a million people who normally would not be able to afford or survive without it.
These steps today mark major milestones along with the Hate Crimes bill he signed this week. We are finally moving along in a positive way after years of hate and discrimination and hope we continue down this path of success for our health and future.
People mention ignorance of others while they are ignorant themselves of how you can “test positive” in the USA and then drive across the border and “test negative”. Testing is not specific. All testing is erroneous. People say they are “positive” as if they know for sure, but they really don’t when you look at the inaccuracies. Different countries have different protocols, there is no agreement. Viruses are dead matter anyway. Viruses all travel by air, there is no such thing as a specific sexual transmission route, it’s absurd. The wind kicks up everything. Viruses don’t die in the air, because they are not living things. Viruses cannot be killed by medications because they are not living things yet we hear “kill the virus” with drugs. The causes of AIDS are complex. The cause of AIDS is not viral. There is no virus that breaks down the entire immune system. It’s a lie. Sure lifting the ban is good, except that now if HIV is real, then the government is allowing people to come in and infect others lest they install chastity devices. If your saviour was doing so great, where’s the ban on the gay blood ban?