Report: AIDS Discrimination in U.S. Is Widespread

According to an American Civil Liberties Union survey of 43 community-based AIDS service providers in 11 states, civil rights violations continue to be widespread against people with HIV/AIDS throughout the United States. The survey, released Thursday, said some people are fired, have their rental agreements torn up, and receive inadequate health care when their HIV/AIDS status is revealed.

Among the most common hardships for people with HIV/AIDS in the United Stated are denial of medical treatment, violations of privacy, deprivation of parental rights, workplace discrimination and refusal of admittance into nursing homes and residential facilities, the ACLU said.

"The situation is much worse than we thought it would be," said Paul Cates, director of public education for the ACLU AIDS Project. "It is pretty horrible stuff when you realize this is not a disease spread through casual contact and we are more than 20 years into this epidemic."

Medical privacy violations were reported by nearly all of the providers surveyed. "Breaches of confidentiality can and do unravel people's lives, forcing them to find new jobs, new schools and new homes," said Tamara Lange, ACLU AIDS Project attorney.

One case cited was that of a patient admitted to a hospital in rural Texas who was left lying in a hospital bed with only a cup of water. Staff from an AIDS service organization delivered medication to him, but he was not treated and later transferred to another hospital where he died, the ACLU said.

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