According to the CDC "more than one million people are living with HIV in the US. One in five, 25%, of those people living with HIV are unaware of their infection. More than 18,000 people with AIDS still die each year in the US". Most people, like Pedro, contracted the HIV virus through not practicing safe sex. Do you think that those that have the virus and knowingly spread it should be tried for attempted murder? In other, words should this be considered a crime? Explain your answer.
I do feel it should be a crime to knowingly spread this virus to others. People need to take care and protect themselves because so many people are not aware they have the virus. However, If a person is aware, they need to let others know prior to intimate contact that they have HIV. It may not be an easy thing to do but withholding that information and risking a seconds persons life is completely irresponsible. If a person was to place poison in someones food, they certainly could be convicted for attemted murder. Knowingly depositing HIV fluids into a person is basically the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that I would like these people who knowingly spread the virus to be punished. However, I feel that this is something that would be hard to prove in a court of law. For example, if someone had numerous sexual partners, it would be difficult to trace it to exactly one person who transmitted the virus. There could have been two people in their "line" of partners who have the virus.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a way to do it fairly though, I definitely think it should be treated as a crime. I like how Doug used the analogy of putting poison in someone's food. This is pretty much the same type of situation if it is looked at from that point of view!