Dr Carrie Foote in Sociology was interviewed for this article about the first ever Indiana General Assembly summer study session on the state’s criminal laws concerning HIV. “Current scientific knowledge has resulted in existing laws being outdated, Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, was first officially reported in the United States in the early 1980s. The virus attacks the body’s immune system. If left untreated, HIV can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. During the early years of the epidemic, information was scarce and often incomplete, particularly among the general public. And back then, there were no effective treatments for the virus. In a letter earlier this year to House Speaker Todd Huston, a group of lawmakers wrote that states – including Indiana – “enacted HIV-specific criminal laws based on the perception of HIV at the time.” The legislators characterized it as “a time of fear and stigma,” and many commonly held beliefs in the latter decades of the 20th century are now known to be inaccurate. State Rep. Ed Clere, one of 16 legislators who signed the letter, said a group of lawmakers wrote a similar letter last summer, but that effort went nowhere.” Read the full article here: