A proposed revision to the AIDS Prevention Act (後天免疫缺乏症候群條例) could deprive patients of their rights to education and work in the name of public health, AIDS prevention groups said yesterday.
Article 6 of the AIDS Prevention Act protects the rights of people living with AIDS and prohibits discrimination against patients with HIV. The law also prohibits refusing AIDS patients access to education, medical treatment and work.
The revision proposed by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hou Shui-sheng (
AIDS prevention groups described the revision as a step backward.
"Protection of the rights of patients with HIV is the foundation of AIDS prevention," said Ivory Lin (
Only by reintegrating patients living with AIDS into society can people learn how to contain the disease, Lin said.
"In an amiable environment where people with AIDS can work with us or live in the same community, people can gain a wider knowledge about this stigmatized disease. They will not panic when they are informed that they have HIV. They will also know where to seek medical help," she said.
"Patients with HIV do not pose a threat to a well-informed society," said Pail Hsu (徐森杰), the chief of the Lourdes Home in Taichung.
Lourdes Home is the only Catholic organization in Taiwan that offers free services to people living with HIV/AIDS.
"The route of transmission is clear -- unsafe sex and dirty needles have been the major causes of the spread of AIDS. There is no solid evidence to suggest that allowing patients with HIV to work or study will fuel the spread of AIDS," Hsu said.
Human-rights groups criticized Hou and the other 36 legislators who support the revision, saying they are ignorant of how to promote AIDS prevention.
"They simply don't know that protecting patients is the very first step in combating any disease. Legislator Hou, in particular, is notorious for his discrimination against gay people," said Wang Ping (
Hou, a surgeon who represents Tainan County, came under fire in 2003 when he said that legalizing gay marriage would result in the annihilation of a nation because same-sex unions could not produce offspring for sustainable development.
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