Judge Rules HIV-Positive Americans Cannot Be Banned from Joining Military
The ruling removes the last policy barring asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals from enlisting, serving, or being promoted in the military.
Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the U.S. military, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, striking down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus.
Isaiah Wilkins is one of three HIV-positive plaintiffs who sued the Defense Department over its policy of not permitting people living with HIV to enlist.Courtesy Lambda Legal“Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious. Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
In her ruling, Brinkema mentioned her landmark 2022 decision that ended the Defense Department’s long-standing policy of forbidding service members who were diagnosed with HIV after enlisting from deploying in active duty outside the continental U.S. and being commissioned as officers.
“Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, and this Court has already ruled that asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment. Now, defendants must allow similarly situated civilians seeking accession into the United States military to demonstrate the same and permit their enlistment, appointment, and induction,” she wrote.
Research has shown that people with HIV who have an undetectable viral load thanks to antiretroviral treatment, as is the case for the vast majority of people on HIV treatment, cannot transmit the virus to others through sex. Advances in care and treatment of the virus have extended the lifespan of people with the virus to near normal. People with well-treated HIV are effectively healthy. However, they are still at higher risk of various health conditions related to aging, including heart disease and various cancers.
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