this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2024
199 points (99.0% liked)

News

23014 readers
6 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious right or left wing sources will be removed at the mods discretion. We have an actively updated blocklist, which you can see here: https://lemmy.world/post/2246130 if you feel like any website is missing, contact the mods. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted seperately but not to the post body.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source.


Posts which titles don’t match the source won’t be removed, but the autoMod will notify you, and if your title misrepresents the original article, the post will be deleted. If the site changed their headline, the bot might still contact you, just ignore it, we won’t delete your post.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials or celebrity gossip is allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis.


7. No duplicate posts.


If a source you used was already posted by someone else, the autoMod will leave a message. Please remove your post if the autoMod is correct. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners.


The auto mod will contact you if a link shortener is detected, please delete your post if they are right.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday sued the state of Tennessee over its decades-old felony aggravated prostitution law, arguing that it illegally imposes tougher criminal penalties on people who are HIV positive.

The lawsuit, filed in western Tennessee, follows an investigation completed in December by the Justice Department that warned that the statute violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. The case heads to court separately from another federal lawsuit filed in October by LGBTQ+ and civil rights advocates over the aggravated prostitution law.

Tennessee is the only state in the United States that imposes a lifetime registration as a “violent sex offender” if convicted of engaging in sex work while living with HIV, regardless of whether the person knew they could transmit the disease.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

So from my understanding, people with HIV who take treatment and have a low or undetectable level of the virus cannot spread it.

Add onto that safe sex practices such as using condoms.

So in theory it should be completely safe for them to engage in sex work.

Although I worry the US healthcare system is incapable of caring for its citizens effectively.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 9 months ago (6 children)

That's a lot of trust to put on something so deadly.

Here's an example. I work in a restaurant setting. If I have a virius that can kill people, and it can be transmitted by food that I touch, but I'm taking treatments and it's not transmittable, should I be hired to work in restaurants? If I am, should I inform every customer that what they eat may kill them? Or do we just take my word for it and hope that a) I'm honest, or if you don't trust that, that b) the doctors got it 100% correct and not 99.9999999%? Would you eat at that restaurant? Would you let your loved ones?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 9 months ago (2 children)

99.9999999%

That’s a lot of nines. A failure rate of one in one billion? I’d definitely roll those dice for some Five Guys.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 9 months ago

Considering that any customer might choke on the food or get an allergic reaction from something in the food and die, I'd say the chance of one of your customers dying is a higher percentage than you think.

So yes, I would eat at a restaurant where there is such a low risk of dying because that means almost no one ever chokes or gets an allergic reaction and this must be a very special restaurant.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago

You know something interesting? The pathogens you can spread as a restaurant employee are SIGNIFICANTLY more transmissible than HIV. You can give someone hepatitis just by not washing your hands well after you poo. Your example doesn't work here because the danger of a restaurant is actually greater than of getting an STI.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

I see what you're trying to get at but I'd say your argument is disingenuous at best. As far as I know such an illness does not exist. More importantly you're using an industry that, in most locales, is highly regulated and has laws for food safety.

What you do do is raise a great argument for why sex work should be legalized and regulated.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Ahh you are talking about Mary Mallon aka Typhoid Mary

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mallon

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Do you not trust that the restaurant is cleaning properly and using safe ingredients, that some nutcase hasn’t poisoned the food to murder people, etc?

There’s already so much blind trust we have to place in society for things to function and not kill people, what’s one more.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

So you are advocating that it's ok for unnecessary risks to be taken by others in regards to your health because "what's one more?" Your the kind of person that doesn't secure the ladder brace before you climb it, aren't you? Keep on keeping on, rebel.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I’m saying risks happen all the time, that alone is not cause to discriminate against someone who doesn’t pose a risk due to treatment.

In my country it is not illegal for HIV positive people to be sex workeds, nor do they have to disclose their status. There is not an epidemic of HIV being spread, in fact STIs are lower among sex workers than the general population so you’re safer with them.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

There doesn't have to be an epidemic. There just has to be one case. Ever. One time where another human life is ruined by a sex worker with a deadly virus. Do you not agree? Want to put a number to it? How many people have to die so sex workers with HIV can fuck indiscriminately? Do we even need one? Or can we preempt the misery and just say, "hey, be a decent human and don't kill other people." I'm glad your country doesn't give a shit about people with HIV selling their disease on the street. Good for wherever you live, I hope it works out. Personally, I'd prefer safeguards against that shit. Fuck whoever you want to fuck, but if you are selling it, certain safeguards for health need to be observed.

[–] SheeEttin 1 points 9 months ago

To use your previous example, there's been a nonzero number of people working in food service while having communicable diseases and getting people sick, but nobody has made a big deal out of that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago (1 children)

There are safeguards, it’s called a decent healthcare system.

This isn’t the 80s, you can drop the AIDS panic.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I'm sorry, what?

A decent healthcare system doesn't mean shit if you don't require people with a deadly disease to tell people THEY HAVE A DEADLY DISEASE. Sure, you can help those infected to live better lives, but they would be living much better ones if the prostitute had told them they have HIV so they could make an informed decision not to fuck someone who could kill them. Do you even read what you write? How can you even begin to justify that logic? That's some sociopathic shit. Again, I'm not trying to say people with HIV shouldn't be allowed to have sex. Go for it. But informed consent is a big deal.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Mate you’re more likely to die from a car than you are HIV. It’s not the death sentence you think it is.

If you’re so worried about it, don’t sleep with a sex worker. It’s not a big deal and doesn’t cause these huge issues you think it does.

Frankly I’m going to trust expert opinions on the issue over uninformed fear mongering comments.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, but a car is a necessary evil in today's world. Fucking a sex worker who doesn't disclose their list of deadly diseases isn't. If you don't care about it, great, I'm happy for you, but maybe think about others who may not be so comfortable with the idea. Maybe everyone doesn't share the same joie de vivre as you with regards to completely avoidable lifelong disease. So, how about you be a team player and agree that regulations on informed consent of HIV infected sex workers is a pretty low bar to clear for a better world.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (2 children)

If they're uncomfortable with the idea, they can not do it. Hiring a sex worker is not a necessity in today's world, nor has it ever been one.

The risk is so low it's insignificant to worry about, the risk of affecting someones livelihood from denying them work is higher. How about you be a team player and realise not having regulations discriminating against people with an illness that with treatment is non-transmissible is a pretty low bar to clear for a better world. And instead channel your anger into why your healthcare system doesn't provide this easy solution to the issue for your fellow citizens.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

You take your car to the mechanic. The technician has a faulty torque wrench and isnt sure if he fastened your lug nuts to the correct spec. It's now your fault if your wheel flies off at 120kmh, since you only use your car to visit friends, but the poor mechanic has bills to pay!

[–] [email protected] -3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Oh fuck off with your healthcare high fucking horse. If you have HIV you don't get to be a sex worker any more. Sorry, that avenue closed. Not everyone gets to be an astronaut. Some of us have to clean toilets. Find a new fucking job where you won't run the risk of killing someone. This fucking entitled attitude you have and the lack of respect for your fellow human is honestly sickening. I'm done with this conversation now. Spout whatever sociopathic nonsense you want, I'm not going to reply.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

The worlds decided you do, tough luck.

The risk is negligible and you're stuck in the 1980s with your over-reaction to it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

What do you do for a living? Just curious

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago

Although I worry the US healthcare system is incapable of caring for its citizens effectively.

Oh don't worry. It's been incapable for some time now.