HIV Immigration Restrictions

HIV is not transmitted only sexually and those that have it, obviously, have shown that they practice behavior that endangers others.

[breakingnews]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

HIV is not transmitted only sexually and those that have it, obviously, have shown that they practice behavior that endangers others.

It'd be nice to paint a broad stroke like that, but we can't ignore the flaw to every solution: the exceptions - those who were infected by mother-to-child, blood transfusions, possibly rape, etc. Sure, perhaps most people get it from risky sexual behavior and sharing needles, but to the exceptions rules like this would be "unfair."

Why stop at HIV then? How about HPV, which is incurable and some strains of which carry a high risk of cancer in women? (I recognize there is a vaccine, but it does not prevent all strains.) If a nation is worried about a burden on its healthcare system, do cancer patients get denied entry as well?

What about someone with poor vision? He/she might get behind the wheel of a car - despite doctors and lawyers and authorities sternly telling him/her not to - and kill a bunch of kids crossing the street at the elementary school down the corner. Where does it end?

I'm actually on the fence on this issue. The language school I attend - the biggest and best known on this island - requires an HIV test prior to entrance, which I think is absolutely ludicrous. Two thousand students - myself included - nonetheless submit to it every year, but a few of my classmates and I voiced our opinion to the director. Elsewhere in this country, HIV-positive students have been denied entry to public schools, and some others have been declined for medical treatment at local hospitals. The government has started providing treatment for patients, but more importantly, the education is lacking severely.

A lot of countries already have restrictions on HIV patients. http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/...ures_1230.html

[Aliantha]

I think John Howard is a dickhead and getting worse. The media has turned on him too, so that's not making life easier for him.

As to restricting immigration, he's been doing it for years. TB is virtually unheard of here. Most kids are immunised in early puberty so it's very rare to hear of anyone with it, so in this respect, I think it's fair enough to restrict people with TB from entering the country, particularly as it's so easily transmissible.

If I take this as my argument then I'd say it's unfair to restrict hiv patients as our country already has hundreds of hiv patients so it's not like a disease that's not already rife in the country. Also, it is not nearly as easily transmitted as TB.

As I said, John Howard is a dick and he wont be in office long enough to make this one stick anyway.

Originally Posted by breakingnews

It'd be nice to paint a broad stroke like that, but we can't ignore the flaw to every solution: the exceptions - those who were infected by mother-to-child, blood transfusions, possibly rape, etc. Sure, perhaps most people get it from risky sexual behavior and sharing needles, but to the exceptions rules like this would be "unfair."

Why stop at HIV then? How about HPV, which is incurable and some strains of which carry a high risk of cancer in women? (I recognize there is a vaccine, but it does not prevent all strains.) If a nation is worried about a burden on its healthcare system, do cancer patients get denied entry as well?

What about someone with poor vision? He/she might get behind the wheel of a car - despite doctors and lawyers and authorities sternly telling him/her not to - and kill a bunch of kids crossing the street at the elementary school down the corner. Where does it end?

I'm actually on the fence on this issue. The language school I attend - the biggest and best known on this island - requires an HIV test prior to entrance, which I think is absolutely ludicrous. Two thousand students - myself included - nonetheless submit to it every year, but a few of my classmates and I voiced our opinion to the director. Elsewhere in this country, HIV-positive students have been denied entry to public schools, and some others have been declined for medical treatment at local hospitals. The government has started providing treatment for patients, but more importantly, the education is lacking severely.

A lot of countries already have restrictions on HIV patients. http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/...ures_1230.html

That was just sad.