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In a split decision September 24,
the Minnesota Court of Appeals reversed the conviction of an HIV-positive man
who was accused of passing the virus to another man through unprotected sex.
The court ruled that the statute was ambiguous.
In October of 2011, the man was
convicted of attempted first-degree assault under a statute that makes it a
crime to knowingly transfer a communicable disease by having sex with another
person without having first informed the other person of one’s HIV-positive
status. The second part of the statute makes it illegal to spread the disease
by transferring blood, sperm, organs, or tissue, except as deemed necessary for
medical research, or if disclosed on donor screening forms.
The man was found not guilty of the
first part of the statute because he had revealed his HIV-positive status
before he had sex with the alleged victim in 2009, but was convicted of the
second section of the statute. The appeals court has now reversed the
conviction.
Judge Larry Collins was the lone
dissenter of the appeals case, stating that the statute is clear, and a
reasonable person would understand that an infected person may engage in
unprotected sex, as long as the person discloses that he has a disease, but
should not transfer sperm to the other person. However, the accused man’s
attorney argued that the second section applies only to medical procedures, and
“any other interpretation [of the statute] yields absurd results,” according to
the appeals court decision.
The man’s attorney stated that he
was pleased the court ruling showed that if a person with a communicable
disease informs his or her partner, it is not a crime to engage in consensual
sex.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!
