Pessimist
David2074
Pessimist
At the very least, that's a d**k move to the partner. But what's the viral load? How good is the protection? These and the other reasons I listed above, are why I'm not entirely sold on the idea of it being a crime. There is no black and white to having bloodborne diseases, from herpes, hep C or HIV.
Well yes actually there is.
You are talking about things that affect the amount of risk but the fact remains that there is still risk.
In the case of HIV it is a deadly risk.
Multiple studies have shown condom use reduces but does not eliminate the risk of contracting HIV.
When you TELL your partner you are infected with HIV (or some other STD / blood borne illness) THEN the degree of risk comes into play because it might affect their decision to say yes or no to sex.
But when you knowingly keep it a secret then you are subjecting them to risk without their consent. That is the part I consider very black and white.
It's bad enough with any disease but in the case of potentially / frequently deadly diseases I consider it particularly callous and criminal.
Neither are desirable traits in a pastor.
You will certainly have no arguments from me re: bolded. That guy is reprehensible. I'm more concerned with 'knowingly passing along HIV/Hep C/etc" as a law. It feels too vague for me to be comfortable with, For example, in the link you gave earlier, states:
Quote:
Any person afflicted with an STD who knowingly transmits, assumes the risk of transmitting, or does any act which will probably or likely transmit such disease to another person
That leaves an absurd amount of room for, say, an ex to press criminal charges against someone who is HIV positive (from any number of reasons), even if they were using protection.
I am not saying the pastor was a piece of s**t. He is. But I also don't like the idea of a vulnerable population subject to criminal charges. Particularly when everyone else does not like to see them as vulnerable and prefers to think that people infected with HIV/etc 'deserved' their disease. Like I mentioned before, should my former stepdad go to jail because he might have shared a toothbrush with my mom, let alone had sex with her?
And, yes, I *do* understand that some will use their infection as a weapon. People are shitty. But for every shitbag, there's also someone else who isn't one and just wants to live as normal a life as possible. In the end I feel there is not a right answer to all of this.
I don't have any trouble with the wording of that law except for perhaps adding some sort of exclusion for partners who are made aware of the risk and willingly choose to subject themselves to that risk.
But in this case, the pastor admits that he knew he had AIDS and that he did not inform his sexual partners. So yes, I think he should go to jail for that, or at the very least pay for their medical screenings / any related medical costs and do some sort of community service or something.
You say, "just wants to live as normal a life as possible".
That's fine, to a point. But when a person's version of living a 'normal life' includes subjecting your sex partners to a deadly disease without their knowledge or consent then no, that's not okay. It is extremely selfish. It doesn't matter if he was not actively trying to use his infection as a weapon.
Think of it this way -
If you intentionally kill someone with your car that is vehicular homicide / murder.
If you can't see well and have body motor issues that prevent you from properly controlling the car but you don't give a s**t about other people and drive anyway because you "just want to live a normal life" and then you kill someone - well, that may not be intentional murder but it is still extremely selfish and a crime.
The reality is life is not always fair and while it may suck to be blind or carry a deadly disease around in your body you do not have a right to put others at deadly risk just because you want to feel "normal".
One of my daughters' half sisters has HEP C. Medical info clearly states it can be transmitted through saliva (or more technically, minute amounts of blood in the saliva). Both of my daughters have repeatedly told her not to share food or drink with their kids yet she still tries to give them drinks of her soda and bites of her food and such. Some people don't really give a s**t about others.
