BREAKING: HIV contract 'unnecessary' says State Health official

By Todd A. Heywood

Originally printed 08/23/2007 (Issue 1534 - Between The Lines News)

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Capitol Correspondent

LANSING-A controversial contract being used by officials from the Ingham County Health Department is now coming under fire from the Michigan Department of Community Health. The contract has been used by the ICHD for "at least 17 years," according to written responses from the department.

The contract states that HIV positive persons agree to follow the HIV felony exposure law which requires them to inform future sexual and needle sharing partners about their HIV status before engaging in behavior which might spread the virus. The document also says the HIV positive person will tell past sexual partners within four weeks.

The ICHD, in responses to a 19-question BTL request, said the contract had been approved since 2001 by the MDCH HIV/AIDS Prevention and Intervention Section. But TJ Bulcholz, spokesperson for MDCH, said that is not true.

"Nobody at HAPIS approved that contract," Bulcholz said. "Secondly it is not a contract. That is too strong of a word. It's an agreement that people will follow the law. And the County needs to change the language to reflect that, in our opinion, if they are going to continue to use this."

Bulcholz said the law is already clear that a person infected with HIV had certain responsibilities, and the contract was a "social contract" and "unnecessary."

ICHD Deputy Health Officer Renee Canady wrote in her response, "Since 2001, the practices of our health department have been reviewed by state accrediting agencies and the Michigan Department of Community Health HIV/AIDS Prevention and Intervention Section. Their reviews have found our HIV control practices, including the contract document referenced above, to be sound and in compliance with the law."

Canady was unavailable for comment as of press time.

But Royal Oak attorney and HIV law specialist Kendra Kleber said, "It is imperative MCDH steps up and does something about it, unless of course they tacitly approve it."

Given the response of the Michigan Department of Community Health, we assume that the Ingham health officials will do the right thing and drop this so-called 'contract.' The contract deters individuals from going to the health department to be tested, which could, in turn, lead to the spread of HIV," said American Civil Liberties Union Legal Director Michael J. Steinberg.

Attacking the phrase contract, Kleber went further in her condemnation of the paperwork. "It is not a legal contract because the health department is not promising to do something as well. There is no mutuality of promises. Reinforcing the idea that this has no point. It is not irrational to wonder what unfriendly, untoward thing are they going to do with it."

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