Judges uphold Ohio’s HIV disclosure law

People with virus must tell sex partners, state Supreme Court rules.

A state law that COLUMBUS — requires HIV-positive people to disclose their status to their partners before sex is constitutional, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a unanimous decision.

The case raised questions about free speech, consensual sex and infectious diseases. While other states began criminalizing non-disclosure in the late 80s, Ohio adopted the law in 2000.

Orlando Batista didn’t tell his girlfriend that he is HIV-positive when they began having sex in November 2013 and she was later diagnosed with it. In Hamilton County, Batista was indicted on one count of felonious assault, based on the disclosure law. Batista pleaded no contest, was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison.

He later challenged the constitutionality of the law based on the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Justice Terrence O’Donnell, writing the majority opinion, said that the law regulates conduct, not speech, so it does not violate the First Amendment. The court noted that similar rulings were made by the supreme courts in Missouri and Illinois.

Also, it relates to the state’s legitimate interest in preventing the spread of HIV to uninformed sexual partners so it does not vio-

late the constitutional rights to equal protection, O’Donnell wrote.

Justices Patrick DeWine, Judith French and Sharon Kennedy issued a concurring opinion that reached the same conclusion but by different means.

Filing amicus briefs in the case were: the Human Rights Campaign, ACLU of Ohio Foundation, Center for Constitutional Rights, the Center for HIV Law and Policy, and the Ohio Public Defender.

The ACLU and Center for Constitutional Rights criticized the law, saying it “brings government-mandated disclosures into the bedroom while doing little to effectively limit the incidence of HIV/AIDS in Ohio. Through this law, the state of Ohio makes itself a partner in sexual intimacy, commanding individuals who are HIV positive to disclose deeply private medical information under threat of a lengthy prison sentence.” Contact this reporter at 614224-1624 or email Laura. Bischoff@coxinc.com.