People living with HIV are banned from traveling to twelve countries, including Armenia, Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, the United States and Yemen.
China just lifted its ban, as a result of pre-Olympic human rights pressure. Yesterday, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged these nations to change their immigration laws — which "uphold stigma and discrimination" — during a major summit on HIV/AIDS.
Andrew Sullivan forcefully advocated for a removal of the discriminatory ban, in a recent Washington Post op-ed. He pointed out that not even leprosy or tuberculosis is considered grounds for inadmissibility to the US. Sullivan wrote about 1993, when Congress wrote the ban into law:
It was when I, a legal immigrant, became infected. With great lawyers, a rare O visa (granted to individuals in the arts and sciences), a government-granted HIV waiver and thousands of dollars in legal fees, I have managed to stay in the United States. Nonetheless, because I am HIV-positive, I am not eligible to become a permanent resident.
Sullivan, a conservative political commentator, explained that every year he must leave the country to reapply for the waiver. Even though he has lived in and paid taxes to the US for almost 25 years, he and his family must face the insecurity that he may not be allowed back. For further discussion, read more.
Since there are already Americans living with HIV, it is unnecessary to "quarantine" this country. In addition, every visitor or immigrant is required to provide private health insurance for 10 years after being admitted. Sullivan notes that tax dollars contributed by qualified HIV-admitees would outdo any cost.
As an American, it's always eye opening to examine the face my country presents to outsiders. What does this ban say about America? What does it say to fellow-Americans already living with HIV, when we make their condition the only medical condition that legally prevents someone from stepping foot in our country?
Jean Marie
Bric's
Free People
Wow. I had no idea this ban existed.
1i had no idea this ban existed either. it seems counter-intuitive that they'd ban people with HIV, but not people with TB, which is WAYYY more congtagious.
2Well if this ban were not in place, does that mean like the issues of illegal immigrants, that these ailing travellers could come in and receive health benefits that citizens should have?i don't see a problem letting them in if they can prove that there is in place a coverage for their benefits.
3I didn't know about this. This is terribly discriminatory.
4Oh how silly. Look unless you're a rare breed like UnDave that likes to hump everything that moves they don't have anything to worry about.
I can understand if it's an air born virus like TB sure. All they have to do is keep their legs closed and their cheeks tight and they'll be just fine.
5Hey! How is it that I like to hump everything now?!?! I mean, even if it's true, why single me out?!?!
6In all seriousness, I like the ban, and they should ban TB, or any other airborne contageous diseases as well. Good luck enforcing it though.
7You like the ban for HIV-positive immigrants, UnDave?
8I didn't know that there was any such ban. Wow, seems rather silly to me.
9I like the idea of preventing people who have terminal diseases, especially those that aree contageous in any way. I like the idea of granting temp visas for treatment purposes, if we have treatment abilities.
10You don't think there should be other considerations, UnDave? For example, the man who is quoted in the article? The man's been paying taxes in this country for 25 years! And he still can't officially be a citizen? That doesn't seem a little ridiculous to you?
11The fact that he is already here is reason enough (for me) to let him stay. Preventing the spread of diseases that we have no cure for yet, should be one of the ways this country protects us.
12Geez U.D., you really don't like people. You think you do, but you're all for executing them, imprisoning them, deporting them, banning them...
13I don't see how it's right, UnDave. Preventing the spread of HIV is fairly simple when people are educated.
14UnDave, how does that protect us if someone comes here as a legal immigrant, say on a work visa, then contracts the disease while here? Sounds like, from this article, that is what happened to Andrew Sullivan. If he contracted it from someone already here, it doesn't protect us at all! It seems nonsensical!
15As I said. If they are here, they can stay. I have not said that he should be deported.
16I like most people. I'm all for preventing pandemics.
17A list of countries I always love to see us in with... "twelve countries, including Armenia, Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, the United States and Yemen."
All beacons of freedom, justice & tolerance.
18UnDave, sorry, I missed your comment stating that...my bad!
19
australia should be on that list even something so minor as asthma can bar you from entry.
You have to be like f**king iron man to get in there.
20(shhh Nya, I think the Aussies are kind of nuts! Kind of cool, but nuts too.)
21I'm all for having foreign visitors declaring their status if they enter the country but to say they can't enter is unnecessary paranoia.
22UnDave, HIV isn't a terminal illness. It has no cure but it is treatable and you are not guaranteed death. And like others have said, HIV/AIDS is completely preventable. It is not something that has to get out of control. Unless you live under a rock, you know how HIV is contracted and it is pretty easy to protect yourself.
23How is HIV not guaranteed death? It's not treatable, and it destroys your immune system. How also do we know that someone with HIV is going to not try to infect others when they come here? These are just questions I have.
Martini - all is cool
24I would say remove the ban, and force the people trying to immigrate here to take a safe sex class. I mean, that would be a compromise. The ban (which I was unfamiliar with until today), is ridiculously biased, ignorant, and makes us (again) look bad.
So much for a country you can live your life freely in....
25UnDave~ The same way we know that we're not letting in serial killers and child molesters? We don't. But if you take that stance, we should never let anyone in.
26We can't tell if someone is mentaly unstable, but we can tell if someone is sick.
27"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-Let's not forget this quote on our Statue of Liberty
Oh how things so quickly change once we become a Superpower....
28Life is guaranteed death U.D. How many people have died of things that should have been curable since Magic Johnson announced he was HIV positive? Do you look at him and think 'he's sick'?
29I notice nowhere that it says: "Bring me your deathly ill, your infected and contageous."
30Sadly, that would be:
31"The wretched refuse of your teeming shore"
I agree that life is guaranteed death. That death does not need to be made sooner because someone catches a disease that is incurable. Erving Johnson is sick. Every girl he was intimate with (after he contracted HIV) is probably sick as well. He has the enefit of being rich enough and in extremely good health, that he will be able to fight for a very long time.
32Dang, UnDave, you're on a roll of negativity today. Going about infecting people on purpose would, imo, be a wee bit mentally unstable. I don't see a regular person with a disease doing something like that... which is exactly why they shouldn't be denied citizenship based on that alone.
33I guess that is a way you can interpret that.
34I have to agree with UnDave, and immigrants who landed on ellis island and were sick? were sent home.
35MM - in the mid 80's (the height of the HIV scare), two men were convicted of murder for having unprotected sexual encounters, even thought they knew they were infected. Their reasoning, "We want to take as many as we can with us."
36They were murderers, UnDave. The same way a person with a gun is a murderer. I don't see the relevance to this topic of conversation. So EVERY person with HIV is grouped in with these two?
37I was replying to your comment about "I don't see a regular person with a disease doing something like that... which is exactly why they shouldn't be denied citizenship based on that alone." These two men appeared regular.
38I can say that i know of some people who have HIV/AIDS, and they knowingly have unprotected sex, i have even heard one of them say "if i have it they will have it". (through my work, not anyone i personally know)
39How sad. It's a shame that people can have that sort of mentality.
40Its also a shame that you cant do anything about it. its frustrating.
41You can do plenty about it. Namely: don't have unprotected sex. I'd say that's a fairly simple thing to do.
42The fact that they "appeared" regular was my point when I mentioned how many people may "appear" regular that don't have medical issues, UnDave. That's why I see it as a non-issue.
I mean I cannot stop these people from knowingly spreading the disease. Of course I can do something about it personally.
43But a simple blood test will show that they are HIV positive. We can't test for everything, but the precautions we can take, we should
44
I will never understand where you're coming from, UnDave. I don't see how denying someone
with a disease entry into this country is in any way going to stop the spread of that disease. It's unfair and imo, prejudice. Agreeing with another's comments above, the list of countries
who include this ban in their immigration law is enough to want to be removed from the list.
45That's fine MM. We can agree to disagree on this. I don't necessarily like being on any list with those other nations, but just because we are on the list doesn't make it a bad idea.
46I turned Platinum!!!
47Yeah, and you're gonna be diamond with all the post you're doing for your victory lap.
48Congratulations
Now I know why I don't like that little China girl, because she can work two sticks at once and I can't.
49I am a little late to the party, but the post about UnDave humping everything is hysterical!
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