Indiana has six laws that criminalize people living with HIV (PLWH), including two that make it a felony to donate blood, plasma, and semen for artificial insemination if a person knows they have HIV. A new report by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law finds that at least 18 people were prosecuted under Indiana’s HIV-related criminal donation law between 2001 and 2023. Some takeaways from the report:
- No cases involved attempts to donate whole blood or semen; every prosecution was for alleged plasma donation.
- There were no allegations of actual transmission or intent to transmit HIV.
- Nearly all accused were found indigent and assigned a public defender.
- Black people were disproportionately impacted; Black people make up 10% of Indiana’s population, 38% of PLWH, and 78% of HIV-related donation arrests.
One of the report Authors, Professor of Sociology, Carrie Foote, an expert on the topic at IU-I, says,“This report underscores the urgent need for legislative reform. Hoosiers have been arrested under our HIV donation laws for acts that do not transmit HIV. These laws were enacted decades ago; today, universal screening for HIV has made donated blood, plasma, and semen safe.” Dr. Foote has been working closely with legislators and community members, through the HIV Modernization Movement-Indiana to modernize outdated HIV criminal laws that add to stigma and no longer reflect current bio-medical knowledge.
- Click here to read the UCLA Williamns Institute Press Release
- Click here to download the Report.
- Click here for an article in the Capital Chronical about the Report, in which Dr. Foote was interviewed.
