Having an HIV positive diagnosis is no longer a disqualifier to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.
A federal judge declared the Department of Defense’s ban on the enlistment of HIV positive people was unconstitutional.
The ruling, handed down on Aug. 20 by Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia, removes the last barrier to military service for people living with HIV.
The Modern Military Association, America’s largest organization of LGBTQ+ service members, celebrated the decision as a victory for science and a defeat of outdated and unjust biases.
“The court’s decision to overturn these restrictions validates the principle we have championed: that modern medicine and science must guide military policy, not fear or stigma,” the group said in a press release.
The DoD argued HIV positive troops, on certain deployments, could go without access to their medications, thus risking an increased viral load. The Pentagon also cited the medications’ high costs as a contributing factor in its stance.
Brinkema, an 80-year-old Bill Clinton appointee, disagreed and called the government’s position, “irrational, arbitrary and capricious.”
Lambda Legal brought the case to trial, filing a class action lawsuit on behalf of three people who were unable to enlist or reenlist. The plaintiffs argued the DoD had violated the Fifth Amendment right to due process.
Since antiretroviral drugs were made widely available in the United States, HIV has become a manageable chronic illness and not the death sentence it was in the 1980s. Through treatment, the virus is suppressed, undetectable and there is no risk of transmission during sex.
Douglas Houghton, Associate Chief Nursing Officer for Advanced Practice Providers at the University of Miami Health System, said he believes a cure to HIV is within reach.
“Finding a cure for HIV is still a big deal because it's costing us tons of money to keep everybody on the meds,” said Houghton. “That’s a huge health care burden, it would be great if they could eliminate that.”
Houghton said there is a study, conducted by the National Institutes of Health, that is close to eradicating the disease.
“If the NIH thinks it’s worth their money, it’s going to happen,” he said.
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