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AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and the Law

NCJ Number
108234
Editor(s)
W H L Dornette
Date Published
1987
Length
375 pages
Annotation
Fifteen papers discuss the medical facts of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and associated legal issues that pertain to the workplace, school, housing, the family, civil liability, criminal sanctions, quarantine, insurance, health care, and confidentiality.
Abstract
After a chapter on the medical facts related to AIDS, the legal terms used in subsequent chapters are reviewed. A chapter on legal issues relevant to AIDS in the workplace considers Federal and State laws, notably rehabilitation and antidiscrimination laws, which provide protection for employees with AIDS. A similar discussion focuses on protections for infected children regarding their right to an education. Attention is also given to safety issues for those who interact casually with persons having AIDS. Protections pertinent to housing for AIDS patients are discussed as well. Whereas most of the chapters pertain to casual contact with AIDS patients in various contexts, one chapter addresses legal issues relevant to AIDS in the context of family intimacies and responsibilities. One chapter focuses on discrimination against the handicapped as a centerpiece for legal protections given persons with AIDS, another on AIDS carriers who negligently or intentionally transmit the virus to others, the considers negligence and intentional torts as civil actions against such persons. Criminal sanctions and quarantine against such persons are also considered. Other chapters discuss AIDS-related criteria for screening applicants for health and life insurance, blood products and tissue transplants, health care issues, and confidentiality. Chapter notes, appended supplementary materials, a table of cases, and a subject index. For individual chapters, see NCJ 108235-38.