SUTURING A TORN SYSTEM: HOW TO REDUCE DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HIV-POSITIVE MEDICAL CARE WORKERS

Although HIV has qualified as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) ever since the Supreme Court’s 1998 decision in Bragdon v. Abbott, the ADA’s “direct threat” defense has been broadly used and interpreted expansively. Although many sub-categories of individuals with HIV have meritorious legal issues that demand analysis, the complexities of the medical profession coupled with HIV’s stigma have rendered confidentiality and disclosure issues ripe in that field. For the purpose of this note the author has grouped together all individuals who provide medical services into a class which I call “Medical Care Workers” or “MCWs.” More specifically, the article focus on how the law currently treats HIV-Positive MCWs. The article address the deficiencies of the current regulatory regime, the short-falls of medical community standards, and the legal issues that pervade. In Suturing a Torn System: How to Reduce Discrimination Against HIV-Positive Medical Care Workers, the author also makes several suggestions to improve the current legal apparatus charged with protecting HIV-Positive MCWs. It is done so with the aspiration that the article may persuade the legal and medical communities that HIV discrimination deserves further contemplation, and more broadly, with the hope that the article may encourage the reader to learn more about HIV and AIDS.