Most States do not have laws that adequately address the deliberate or reckless exposure of others to AIDS. Although many States have laws making the transmission of communicable diseases a crime, most are limited to specified diseases that do not include AIDS. Even those penal laws that do cover all communicable diseases, including AIDS, usually require an actual 'transmission' of the disease. Rarely can this be proven in AIDS cases. There is legal precedent for States to make it a felony to expose others deliberately or recklessly to the AIDS virus, whether or not the disease is transmitted and regardless or whether or not the exposed person tests positive for AIDS antibodies. Possible AIDS transmission through voluntary sexual contact requires special legislation because of the dual problems of consent and assumption of risk. At common law, for example, one is presumed to have assumed the risk of contracting venereal disease when consenting to sexual intercourse. 24 notes.