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PRINTER'S NO. 812
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No. 94
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY WAXMAN, MAYES, MADDEN, GIRAL, CERRATO, BURGOS,
HOHENSTEIN, VENKAT, SANCHEZ AND MALAGARI, MARCH 3, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, MARCH 3, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Designating February 28, 2025, as "HIV is Not a Crime Awareness
Day" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a chronic
illness that can be effectively managed with antiretroviral
therapy, and the science around HIV treatment and prevention has
progressed significantly in the four decades since the early
days of the epidemic; and
WHEREAS, We now possess effective mechanisms to prevent the
transmission of HIV, including barrier protection, such as
condoms, pre-exposure prophylaxis and post-exposure prophylaxis;
and
WHEREAS, It has been recognized by national and international
public health authorities that HIV treatment is also HIV
prevention, since individuals living with HIV who are receiving
antiretroviral therapy and have an undetectable viral load,
which is less than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood,
cannot transmit HIV through sexual contact; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians living with HIV have been charged
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with crimes for conduct that would not be criminal or would be
less severe but for their HIV status, a phenomenon known as HIV
criminalization; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians living with HIV may fear prosecution
or be threatened with prosecution, especially in cases of
intimate partner abuse; and
WHEREAS, HIV criminalization increases stigma against
individuals living with HIV and, according to the United States
Department of Health and Human Services 2019 Plan for Ending the
HIV Epidemic, stigma "can be a debilitating barrier preventing
people living with, or at risk for, HIV from receiving the
health care, services, and respect they need and deserve"; and
WHEREAS, HIV criminalization laws have been
disproportionately used to prosecute people of color, women, sex
workers, the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups; and
WHEREAS, Misperceptions about HIV transmission, treatment and
prevention, as well as HIV criminalization and its impact on
individuals living with HIV are common; and
WHEREAS, It is vitally important for all elected officials in
this Commonwealth to consider updating or repealing outdated
laws and practices regarding HIV criminalization and to
encourage every Pennsylvanian to educate themselves about HIV
and HIV criminalization; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate
February 28, 2025, as "HIV is Not a Crime Awareness Day" in
Pennsylvania.
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