A federal judge in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/texas" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Texas</a> struck down a provision in the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/obamacare" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Affordable Care Act</a> that requires employers and insurers to cover <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hiv" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIV</a> prevention drugs, ruling that the requirement opposes the religious freedom of some Christian-led companies.
Judge Reed O&#8217;Connor&#8217;s ruling on Wednesday could have far-reaching consequences for the act popularly known as Obamacare.
“Braidwood has shown that the PrEP mandate substantially burdens its religious exercise,” he <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22276105-braidwood-v-hhs-opinion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a>. &#8220;The burden thus shifts to Defendants to show that the PrEP mandate furthers a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. Defendants have not carried that burden.&#8221;
The case, Braidwood Management Inc. et al. v. Becerra, included six individuals and two businesses that challenged the preventive care mandates under the Constitution and Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The Religious Freedom Restoration Act prohibits any government agency from substantially burdening an individual’s religious practice. The plaintiffs argued that the coverage of the drug opposed their religious convictions as they did not desire to encourage same-sex behavior.
The drug targeted in the lawsuit is preexposure prophylaxis, popularly called PrEP. The drug was recommended by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2019 to help prevent HIV infection for those at high risk, forcing health insurance plans to cover it.
The drug reportedly reduces the risk of contracting HIV from sex by roughly 99% and from drug injection by about 74%. The drug is taken primarily by men who have sex with men, but also by heterosexual individuals who may be at high risk for the disease, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/prep.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to</a> the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Survivors of sexual assaults are also sometimes prescribed PEP (postexposure prophylaxis).
O’Connor also stated in the ruling that the task force’s system for deciding which services should be fully covered under the Affordable Care Act was unconstitutional. The ruling opposed some additional preventive services covered under the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, including colorectal and other cancer screenings, depression screenings, and hypertension screenings.
Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, told Roll Call that he expects the case will be appealed.
“Preventive services covered by private insurance plans without cost-sharing, such as HIV testing, hepatitis B and C testing, and PrEP, are all critical and well-established public health preventive services that must continue,” he said in a <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/09/07/federal-judge-rules-hiv-drug-mandate-violates-religious-freedom/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “To single out PrEP, which are FDA approved drugs that effectively prevent HIV, and conclude that its coverage violates the religious freedom of certain individuals, is plain wrong.”
The ruling follows a 7-2 Supreme Court ruling in June 2021 to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-republican-ags-challenge-to-obamacare-over-lack-of-standing-to-sue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reject</a> a challenge to the Affordable Care Act from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and 17 other Republican attorneys general.
The attorneys general argued against the constitutionality of the law’s individual mandate, its prohibition on lifetime benefit caps, and its guarantee of protection for individuals with pre-existing conditions.

HIV prevention drug

Federal Judge Rules Against Obamacare Coverage Of HIV Prevention Drugs

Freedom of Religion

Health Care

Obamacare

Texas

Former <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/nba">NBA</a> star <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/democrat-south-carolina-councilwoman-accused-of-using-public-funds-to-stalk-magic-johnson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earvin &#8220;Magic&#8221; Johnson</a> fired back at the rumor mill on Tuesday after a photo circulated online that appeared to show him donating blood.
Johnson, who has been <a href="https://dailywire.com/news/man-cured-of-hiv-in-holy-grail-moment-for-medical-researchers-report/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HIV-positive</a> for decades and cannot donate blood, took to Twitter to refute the story. &#8220;I&#8217;m aware of the false story circling the internet, and to be clear, I have never donated blood,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I’m aware of the false story circling the internet, and to be clear, I have never donated blood.
&mdash; Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/MagicJohnson/status/1562090509710925826?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The original story came from a Twitter account called <a href="https://twitter.com/cocksources/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@CockSources</a>, which advertises the account as satire. &#8220;•Featured on BarstoolSports &amp; YahooSports | •spreading narratives with misinformation (satire) | •Real posts will have sources in replies,&#8221; the account bio reads.
But enough people were sucked in by the initial post — and did not check to see whether the account was satire — that Snopes published a <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/magic-johnson-donate-blood/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact-check</a> on the claim. The outlet noted that the actual photo of Johnson came from a medical exam that Johnson had undergone as part of the 2012 documentary &#8220;Endgame: AIDS in Black America.&#8221;
The same photo triggered a similar response — and another Snopes <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/magic-johnson-blood-donation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fact-check</a> — in 2015, when it was used to assert that Johnson had donated blood to help leukemia and lymphoma patients.
At that time, the photo circulated along with a false article claiming, &#8220;Retired NBA star, Earvin &#8216;Magic&#8217; Johnson, has decided to run a blood drive in conjunction with American Red Cross to support the National Awareness Month for Leukemia and Lymphoma. So far, Johnson has had a [sic] of 1,827 donors including himself and has saved about 438 patients so far.&#8221;
&#8220;Everything about this is deranged. From the original meme that this spiraled out of, to Magic even having to address it in the first place, to the replies in this thread here. People need education, man,&#8221; Twitter user Dee Phunk said of the recent situation.
&#8220;I can&#8217;t describe how sh***y it is that @MagicJohnson has to issue this statement because of the laziness of others,&#8221; Ryan Doyle agreed.
Johnson went public with his HIV status and announced his retirement from professional basketball in 1991, and has since devoted countless hours to raising awareness for HIV and safer sex practices. He did return to the court for the NBA All-Star Game in 1992, and played with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 1995-96 season, but he has since made his retirement official.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VbdOQUARrEU" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>

TSP Live 2022

Magic Johnson Throws Down With The Gossip Mill: ‘I Have Never Donated Blood!’

Magic Johnson Refutes Gossip, Says He Has Never Donated Blood

Basketball

Instagram model <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Gena-Tew-125796614162473/">Gena Tew</a>, 27, recently opened up about her <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/hiv">AIDS</a> diagnosis, a disease Tew said she likely developed over the course of some ten years before she was tested.
Tew, who is reportedly <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@genatew2/video/7089915164451015982?referer_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheshaderoom.com%2F&amp;referer_video_id=7089915164451015982&amp;refer=embed&amp;referer_url=https://theshaderoom.com/instagram-model-linked-to-numerous-celebs-nearly-died-from-aids-after-going-untested-for-almost-a-decade/">linked</a> to male celebrities, has repeatedly warned her followers to be careful and get tested for HIV as she takes them on her medical journey.
&#8220;I do not know who gave it to me, or where I got it, how I got it,&#8221; Tew said in a recent TikTok post, as first <a href="https://twitter.com/TheShadeRoom/status/1552013900903743491?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1552013900903743491%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Feditorial.dailywire.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost.php%3Fpost%3D415703action%3Dedit">reported</a> by The Shade Room. &#8220;All I know is, because I was so sick to the point of death, they said I had to have had it for 8-10 years.&#8221;
&#8220;In that timeframe, I was living in New York City,&#8221; the <a href="https://www.inkedmag.com/culture/10-questions-with-model-gena-tew">model</a> said. &#8220;I was homeless. I did get raped a couple of times &#8212; not something I like to talk about. I have had a couple free tattoos, so it could have been a dirty needle. I don&#8217;t know.&#8221;
In other posts on social media, Tew shared with her followers how she couldn&#8217;t walk and used a wheelchair. One caption on a video showing Tew looking incredibly frail and thin says she was down to a mere 65 pounds.
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@genatew2/video/7124225912245308718" data-video-id="7124225912245308718" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" >
<section> <a target="_blank" title="@genatew2" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@genatew2?refer=embed">@genatew2</a> 
<a title="answer" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/answer">#answer</a> to @mantonioyo how did i get aids.. well <a title="fyp" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp">#fyp</a> <a title="aids" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aids">#aids</a> <a title="letstalk" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/letstalk">#letstalk</a> <a title="naturalhair" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/naturalhair">#naturalhair</a>
 <a target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - Gena Tew" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-7124225881131846442?refer=embed">♬ original sound &#8211; Gena Tew</a> </section>
</blockquote>
 <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
During a YouTube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XznRVjvAss">appearance</a> on Tuesday, Tew was asked about her past love life, specifically about reports of her being tied to male celebrities.
The model said if she did link up with someone in the music industry, she would not reveal their name.
&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t put their names out there like that,&#8221; Tew said. &#8220;That&#8217;s not something I&#8217;m willing to do.&#8221;
WARNING: Sensitive Video 
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Now Streaming | Model Linked to Nick Cannon, GenaTew REVEALS her A.I.D.S Diagnosis! |TashaKLIVE.COM" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1XznRVjvAss?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
In 2018, Tew did an <a href="https://www.inkedmag.com/culture/10-questions-with-model-gena-tew#gid=ci0234ffcd10012718&amp;pid=genatew_17895">interview</a> with Inked magazine. &#8220;The Brooklyn based model is lighting up Instagram and has booked big gigs with retailer Dolls Kill,&#8221; the magazine boosted Tew. &#8220;But don&#8217;t let her looks fool you, because this girl is much more than meets the eye.&#8221;
In a segment called &#8220;10 Questions with Model Gena Tew,&#8221; the influencer said she had hopes of a music career, so she went to New York City. &#8220;Moving to the big city is never easy, and I was homeless for like three years,&#8221; she said.
Last year, a GoFundMe account was started for the influencer.
&#8220;As you all know my name is Gena Tew and I’m fighting AIDS,&#8221; the fundraiser <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/d43v6v-in-need-of-help">reads</a>, adding that her sister with three children died of a rare lung disease.
&#8220;She left behind a husband [and] 3 small children she was only 29 years old,&#8221; the post continues, &#8220;we are now trying to raise money to move to where they are to be there for them, any help would be appreciated.&#8221;

PAKISTAN-HEALTH-AIDS

Model With AIDS Says She Was Infected For A Decade Without Knowing It, Dropped To 65 Pounds

Model Gena Tew, Linked To Celebrities, Says AIDS Almost Killed Her After Going Untested For Nearly 10 Years, Dropped To 65 Pounds

Instagram

TikTok

A U.S. District Judge has ruled that HIV-positive U.S. service members cannot be discharged or barred from becoming an officer if the infection is the sole cause of such a decision.
Two airmen had filed a 2018 lawsuit contending that advancements in medical treatment meant that presented &#8220;no real risk of transmission to others,” <a href="https://nypost.com/2022/04/11/judge-leonie-brinkema-rules-us-military-cant-discharge-hiv-positive-troops/">The New York Post</a> noted.
Sgt. Nick Harrison of the D.C. Army National Guard, denied a position in the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps, also was involved in the case decided by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who stated that the military should not discharge or bar the prospective officers &#8220;because they are classified as ineligible for worldwide deployment … due to their HIV-positive status.”
<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/defense/3263725-judge-rules-us-military-cant-discharge-hiv-positive-troops/">The Hill</a> reported, “In 2020, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction barring the discharge of the airmen. In its ruling, the three-judge panel said the military’s rationale for prohibiting deployment of HIV-positive service members was ‘outmoded and at odds with current science.’ The appeals court ruling left the injunction in place while their lawsuit was being heard.”
“In 2020, the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a preliminary injunction barring the discharge of the airmen,” The New York Post noted. “In its ruling, the three-judge panel said the military’s rationale for prohibiting deployment of HIV-positive service members was ‘outmoded and at odds with current science.’ The appeals court ruling left the injunction in place while their lawsuit was being heard. The Department of Justice argued before the 4th Circuit that the Air Force determined the two airmen could no longer perform their duties because their career fields required them to deploy frequently and because their condition prevented them from deploying to the U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility, where most airmen are expected to go.”
The DOJ admitted that medical treatment lowers the risk of transmitting HIV, but said the blood shed on the battlefield increases the risk.
<a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/what-its-like-to-be-hiv-positive-in-the-military-120407/">Rolling Stone</a> reported in 2017 that HIV transmission rates were rising in the military:
<blockquote>Nationally, HIV transmission rates have gone down as access to medication and education have increased. But since tracking HIV within the armed forces, positive tests have “trended upwards since 2011,” according to the Defense Health Agency’s Medical Surveillance Monthly Report <a href="http://journals.lww.com/jaids/Citation/2015/12010/Brief_Report___Sexual_Risk_Behaviors_of_HIV.19.aspx">published in 2015</a>. The highest prevalence of HIV is among Army and Navy men, according to the report.</blockquote>
The Defense Department <a href="https://www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/issuances/dodi/648501p.pdf">wrote</a> during former President Barack Obama’s second term in 2013: “It is DoD policy to deny eligibility for military service to persons with laboratory evidence of HIV infection for appointment, enlistment, pre-appointment, or initial entry training for military service.”

New State-Of-The Art Laboratory Gets To Work On AIDS Vaccine

Judge Rules Military Cannot Discharge, Bar From Advancement Soldiers With HIV

U.S. Military

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first injection drug for HIV pre-exposure prevention. 
The FDA <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-injectable-treatment-hiv-pre-exposure-prevention">approved</a> use of the drug Apretude “(cabotegravir extended-release injectable suspension) for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (77 pounds) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce the risk of sexually acquired HIV.”
The drug is first carried out as two injections given with one month of separation, and every two months afterwards. People can either start by getting the Apretude injection or take the oral drug cabotegravir (Vocabria) for four weeks to see how they do with the medication.
The FDA explained the trials that were carried out: 
<blockquote>
The safety and efficacy of Apretude to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV were evaluated in two randomized, double-blind trials that compared Apretude to Truvada, a once daily oral medication for HIV PrEP. Trial 1 included HIV-uninfected men and transgender women who have sex with men and have high-risk behavior for HIV infection. Trial 2 included uninfected cisgender women at risk of acquiring HIV.
…
In Trial 1, 4,566 cisgender men and transgender women who have sex with men received either Apretude or Truvada. The trial measured the rate of HIV infections among trial participants taking daily cabotegravir followed by Apretude injections every two months compared to daily oral Truvada. The trial showed participants who took Apretude had 69% less risk of getting infected with HIV when compared to participants who took Truvada. 
In Trial 2, 3,224 cisgender women received either Apretude or Truvada. The trial measured the rate of HIV infections in participants who took oral cabotegravir and injections of Apretude compared to those who took Truvada orally. The trial showed participants who took Apretude had 90% less risk of getting infected with HIV when compared to participants who took Truvada.
Side effects occurring more frequently in participants who received Apretude compared to participants who received Truvada in either trial include injection site reactions, headache, pyrexia (fever), fatigue, back pain, myalgia and rash.
</blockquote>
It added, &#8220;Apretude includes a boxed warning to not use the drug unless a negative HIV test is confirmed. &#8230; Individuals who become infected with HIV while receiving Apretude for PrEP must transition to a complete HIV treatment regimen. The drug labeling also includes warnings and precautions regarding hypersensitivity reactions, hepatotoxicity (liver damage) and depressive disorders.&#8221;
The FDA noted that the drug administer every two months instead of a daily pill medication is an “Important Tool in [the] Effort to End the HIV Epidemic.”
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-health-and-wellness/fda-approves-first-injectable-hiv-prevention-drug-rcna9426">reported</a> that “[w]hile gains have been made in PrEP use over the past several years, only 25 percent of the 1.2 million people for whom PrEP is recommended were prescribed the treatment last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates that as of 2019, there were approximately 285,000 people using PrEP, the vast majority of them gay and bisexual men.”
“Today’s approval adds an important tool in the effort to end the HIV epidemic by providing the first option to prevent HIV that does not involve taking a daily pill,” said Debra Birnkrant, M.D., who is the director of the Division of Antivirals in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “This injection, given every two months, will be critical to addressing the HIV epidemic in the U.S., including helping high-risk individuals and certain groups where adherence to daily medication has been a major challenge or not a realistic option.”
The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/586735-fda-approves-first-hiv-prevention-injection">reported</a>, “Approximately 1.7 million new HIV cases are identified every year. Those who get infected with HIV while taking Apretude are instructed to transition to an HIV treatment regimen.”
In an <a href="https://viivhealthcare.com/hiv-news-and-media/news/press-releases/2021/december/viiv-healthcare-announces-fda-approval-of-apretude/">announcement</a>, ViiV Healthcare said it &#8220;will begin shipping Apretude to wholesalers and specialty distributors in the U.S. in early 2022. ViiV Healthcare has initiated submissions to other regulatory authorities. Apretude has not been approved or licensed anywhere outside of the U.S. for use in HIV prevention.&#8221;
Per the company&#8217;s website, &#8220;ViiV Healthcare is a global specialist HIV company established in November 2009 by GlaxoSmithKline [&#8230;] and Pfizer [&#8230;] dedicated to delivering advances in treatment and care for people living with HIV and for people who are at risk of becoming infected with HIV.&#8221;
Americans have become more familiarized with the FDA over the course of the last several years as the process for getting treatments and vaccines approved has been brought to light through the coronavirus pandemic. 
This week, a Tuesday report from Bloomberg stated that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-fda-could-approve-pfizer-merck-covid-pills-in-next-few-days">authorize</a> use of COVID-19 pills by Pfizer and Merck as early as this week. 
Some have started to consider the FDA and CDC as political tools, perhaps contributing to the apparent rise of distrust in American institutions. 
Last week, the FDA <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fda-to-make-abortion-pills-available-through-the-mail">removed</a> restrictions from the distribution of the abortion pill, allowing it to be given out in different settings rather than the method by which it has been issued in the past. The new development will now allow the medication abortion to be sent through the mail and even potentially purchased or acquired online.

&lt;&gt; on June 27, 2012 in New York City.

FDA Approves HIV Prevention Drug As Shot

Actor Billy Porter, who will be playing the Fairy Godmother in Disney&#8217;s upcoming &#8220;Cinderella&#8221; adaptation, revealed this week that he has been HIV-positive since 2007.
In a lengthy interview with <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/billy-porter-hiv-positive-diagnosis-1234954742/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Hollywood Reporter </a>(THR), Porter said that being HIV-positive is no longer the death sentence like it was in the 1980s and that he will die of something else.
“This is what HIV-positive looks like now. I’m going to die from something else before I die from that,” the &#8220;Pose&#8221; star said. “I’m the healthiest I’ve been in my entire life.”
Porter did not even tell his mother nor his castmates in the FX series &#8220;Pose&#8221; that he was HIV-positive out of a sense of shame originating from his religious upbringing. He only decided to reveal his condition after the pandemic and social isolation gave him a &#8220;safe space for me to stop and reflect and deal with the trauma in my life.”
“HIV-positive, where I come from, growing up in the Pentecostal church with a very religious family, is God’s punishment,” he said.
Going forward, Porter hopes that he can experience peace and &#8220;sex without shame.&#8221;
“The truth is the healing. And I hope this frees me. I hope this frees me so that I can experience real, unadulterated joy so that I can experience peace so that I can experience intimacy so that I can have sex without shame,” he told THR. “This is for me. I’m doing this for me. I have too much s*** to do, and I don’t have any fear about it anymore. I told my mother — that was the hurdle for me. I don’t care what anyone has to say. You’re either with me or simply move out of the way.”
NBC News provided some statistics about the presence of HIV in the United States and a recent increase in HIV prevalence among gay black men.
<blockquote>
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced in 2015 that diagnoses of HIV in the U.S. declined by 19 percent in decade before, but “progress is uneven.&#8221;
Diagnoses among white gay and bisexual men decreased by 18 percent, but diagnoses among Black gay and bisexual men increased 22 percent from 2005 to 2014.
The increase leveled off in 2010, the CDC wrote, but Black gay and bisexual men still make up a disproportionate number of new diagnoses. In 2018, they made up 26 percent of the 37,968 new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. and dependent areas, according to the CDC.
</blockquote>
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/actor-billy-porter-reveals-s-living-hiv-2007-rcna972">reported</a>, Porter will be playing the Fairy Godmother in Disney&#8217;s upcoming &#8220;Cinderella&#8221; adaptation and will teach the message that &#8220;magic has no gender.&#8221;
“It hit me when I was on the set last week, how profound it is that I am playing the Fairy Godmother—they call it the Fab G,” Porter told CBS News. “Magic has no gender.”
“This is a classic, this is a classic fairytale for a new generation,” Porter added. “I think that the new generation is really ready. The kids are ready. It’s the grownups that are slowing stuff down.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-cinderella-to-feature-male-fairy-godmother-who-teaches-that-magic-has-no-gender">New ‘Cinderella’ To Feature Male Fairy Godmother Who Teaches That ‘Magic Has No Gender’</a>

The Brit Awards 2021 – Show – London

Billy Porter Reveals He’s Been HIV-Positive For 14 Years

Gender

Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) refuses to make a simple phone call to a female student who accused a male student of sexual assault in order to ask for verification that she is, indeed, HIV-positive, as she claimed to a school investigator.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/she-claimed-he-raped-her-and-gave-her-hiv-he-wasnt-hiv-positive-before-their-encounter-and-is-now-afraid-for-his-life">reported</a> that the woman, referred to in court documents as Jane Roe, accused a male student referred to only as John Doe of sexually assaulting her in late 2019. She made the allegations as she tried to get failing grades changed to incomplete. During a December 11 conversation with the single school investigator who not only “investigated” the case but also made the sole determination of the male student’s guilt, the woman claimed she had been tested for STDs and was found to be HIV-positive.
It appears from John’s eventual lawsuit against the university that IWU assumed he was HIV-positive, knew it, and infected Jane. A “note from IWU Associate Professor Anneke Stasson included in the Incident Reporting From said, “It makes me really worried to think that the guy who gave her HIV is still on this campus.”
John was never told about Jane’s HIV claim. In fact, he only found out about it after a judge granted him expedited discovery in his lawsuit claiming his rights were violated by IWU and his life was put in danger. It was during discovery that John’s attorneys uncovered the claim. John said he had been tested for STDs before and was never told he was HIV-positive, now fearing that he caught it from Jane. Of course, as is often the case with school accusations, the accuser doesn’t have to prove her claims, and in this case, Jane was never asked to provide documentation that she was HIV-positive.
John and his attorneys filed an emergency temporary restraining order to compel IWU to reach out to Jane and have her provide documentation proving her HIV claim. If the university doesn’t comply, John would be forced to break quarantine and travel to a doctor’s office to get himself tested in the midst of a global pandemic. John has a seizure disorder and contends that he would be at risk were he to contract the coronavirus. All IWU would have to do is call the accuser and ask for documentation.
IWU refused to do so in an email to John and his attorneys that John should just order a test on line, wait for it to arrive, take it, and then send it in for analysis. And again, this is already four months after Jane made her claim, meaning John has wasted valuable time to receive treatment if he is actually HIV positive. John’s attorneys called IWU’s refusal “offensive and insensitive, particularly when this dilemma was created by IWU’s callous and deliberate indifference.”
IWU has now responded to John’s request for a temporary restraining order, unwittingly admitting that that it never bothered to consider whether Jane was telling the truth about being HIV-positive. She may very well have lied about it and John was expelled over a false allegation. He also contends the sexual activity with Jane was consensual.
In its response, IWU claims John’s request would require the school to “be responsible for contacting a former student over whom it has no authority or control to ask her sensitive information about her medical history and for medical documentation to prove it. Notably, to the extent Roe does not already have medical documentation concerning her current HIV status, IWU would be asking her to bear the same risk that Doe fears – ‘breaking quarantine to seek medical attention in the midst of a nation-wide crises [sic] where medical facilities are overwhelmed and vulnerable to COVID-19 infection,’” IWU’s attorneys wrote.
If Jane had indeed taken the test, however, it would be in her medical files and could be sent to her or scanned without her having to go to the doctor and get tested again. Since she claimed to have contracted HIV months ago, she would also presumably be on medication already and have a prescription pill bottle around for verification. There is no true hardship for her if she’s telling the truth.
As author and professor K.C. Johnson noted on Twitter that the “University&#8217;s argument that accuser might not have this medical info is particularly bizarre,” adding that “If, in fact, she wasn&#8217;t tested, that would mean she lied on a critical matter when filing her complaint.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
University&#8217;s argument that accuser might not have this medical info is particularly bizarre. If, in fact, she wasn&#8217;t tested, that would mean she lied on a critical matter when filing her complaint.
— KC Johnson (@kcjohnson9) <a href="https://twitter.com/kcjohnson9/status/1247277426037620736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 6, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Update: John risked a coronavirus infection to get himself tested for HIV Monday night. The results came back negative, calling into question the veracity of his accuser&#8217;s claims. He and his attorneys have withdrawn their emergency temporary restraining order since it is no longer necessary.

HIV test

University Refuses To Verify Claims Of Woman Who Claimed To Get HIV From Male Student

Education

Sexual Assault

Title IX

On Thursday, President Trump, who stated in February that his administration had a goal to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years, announced that his administration had successfully worked with a pharmaceutical company to initiate a historic donation to eliminating the HIV problem in America.
Trump stated on Twitter: &#8220;Great news today: My Administration just secured a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP for the uninsured and those at risk. Will help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America!&#8221;
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Great news today: My Administration just secured a historic donation of HIV prevention drugs from Gilead to help expand access to PrEP for the uninsured and those at risk. Will help us achieve our goal of ending the HIV epidemic in America! <a href="https://t.co/wux5QasWgW">https://t.co/wux5QasWgW</a>
&#8212; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1126616468873936896?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 9, 2019</a></blockquote>
</div>
The Health and Human Services Department <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/05/09/trump-administration-secures-historic-donation-of-billions-of-dollars-in-hiv-prevention-drugs.html">issued more specifics</a>:
<blockquote>
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex M. Azar II announced today that, as a result of discussions between the Trump Administration and Gilead Sciences, Inc., the pharmaceutical company has agreed to donate pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication for up to 200,000 individuals each year for up to 11 years. PrEP is used to reduce the risk of HIV infection in individuals who are at higher risk for HIV. It has been shown to reduce the risk of new infection by up to 97 percent when taken consistently.
The agreement between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Gilead will last until at least December 31, 2025 and possibly through December 31, 2030, and will provide medication to treat individuals who are at risk for HIV and who are uninsured. This donation will deliver Gilead&#8217;s PrEP medication Truvada, which currently carries a list price of more than $20,000 per patient per year, to up to 200,000 people per year, including in the states and counties identified as priority areas in the Trump Administration <a data-vars-internal-link="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ending-the-hiv-epidemic-fact-sheet.pdf" href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ending-the-hiv-epidemic-fact-sheet.pdf">plan &#8211; PDF</a> to end the HIV epidemic in America.
Gilead will donate Truvada until its second-generation HIV preventative medication, Descovy, becomes available. At that time, Gilead will donate Descovy. The agreement would end after 11 years, or when a generic version of Descovy becomes commercially available, whichever comes first. The government has agreed to cover costs associated with distributing the drugs.
</blockquote>
Azar issued a statement:
<blockquote>
Securing this commitment is a major step in the Trump Administration&#8217;s efforts to use the prevention and treatment tools we have to end the HIV epidemic in America by 2030. Under President Trump&#8217;s leadership, HHS worked with Gilead to secure preventative medication for individuals who might otherwise not be able to access or afford this important treatment. The majority of Americans who are at risk and who could protect themselves with PrEP are still not receiving the medication. This agreement will help close that gap substantially and deliver on President Trump&#8217;s promise to end the HIV epidemic in America.
</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/index.html">According</a> to the CDC, &#8220;At the end of 2016, an estimated 1.1 million people aged 13 and older had HIV infection in the United States, including an estimated 162,500 (14%) people whose infections had not been diagnosed &#8230; Worldwide, there were about 1.8 million new cases of HIV in 2017. About 36.9 million people are living with HIV around the world. An estimated 940,000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses in 2017.&#8221;

Trump Administration Win For Fighting HIV: Huge Donation Of Prevention Drugs

Donald Trump

During Tuesday&#8217;s State of the Union address, President Trump is expected to announce a plan to end the spread of HIV by 2030. 
<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/03/trumps-state-of-the-union-2019-hiv-1140379">POLITICO</a> reported that four individuals &#8220;with knowledge of the planned remarks&#8221; said that Trump plans to address the HIV epidemic, though the speech is still not finalized.
&#8220;Under Trump&#8217;s HIV strategy, health officials would spend the first five years focusing on communities across roughly 20 states where the most HIV infections occur,&#8221; POLITICO reports. &#8220;The ultimate goal is to stop new infections over a 10-year period, said two officials, with some parallels to how the Trump administration is targeting the opioid epidemic.&#8221;
One of the biggest influencers of Trump&#8217;s decision is reportedly AIDS researcher Robert Redfield, who became the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in March of last year. 
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex M. Azar II said in a recent speech that the goal is to prevent the spread of infection through treatment. 
&#8220;People living with H.I.V. who take medicine every day as prescribed, keeping an undetectable viral load, have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting H.I.V. to their H.I.V.-negative partners,&#8221; Mr. Azar said in a recent speech, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/04/us/politics/trump-hiv-aids-plan.html">reports</a>.
Carl E. Schmid II, the deputy executive director of the AIDS institute, reportedly welcomed the plan and called it &#8220;very bold,&#8221; and said it &#8220;could be one of his [Trump&#8217;s] greatest achievements.&#8221;
The Human Rights Campaign <a href="https://www.hrc.org/blog/trump-will-announce-hiv-plan-two-years-after-undermining-advocates-efforts">responded</a> to Trump&#8217;s planned announcement, claiming that the Trump administration cannot achieve this goal with current policies and has an &#8220;ongoing record of undermining HIV and AIDS prevention, treatment, and awareness.&#8221;
&#8220;If this administration wants to combat the spread of HIV, they need to immediately end their efforts to cut Medicaid funding, undermine the Affordable Care Act and license discrimination against the most at-risk communities when they seek healthcare,&#8221; HRC Director of Government Affairs said. &#8220;This administration simply cannot achieve this goal while, at the same time, charging forward with attacks on healthcare for the communities most impacted by HIV. The American public deserves a real commitment from their government to end the HIV epidemic.&#8221;
In December 2017, the Trump administration fired the remaining unpaid members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, months after half a dozen members resigned over disagreements with the administration&#8217;s health policies, The Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/12/29/trump-administration-fires-all-members-of-hivaids-advisory-council/?utm_term=.fcb45e287846&amp;noredirect=on">reports</a>.
One of the members who quit, Scott Schoettes, wrote in <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/trump-doesnt-care-about-hiv-were-outta-here-626285">a column </a>that &#8220;The Trump Administration has no strategy to address the on-going HIV/AIDS epidemic, seeks zero input from experts to formulate HIV policy, and &#8212; most concerning &#8212; pushes for legislation that will harm people living with HIV and halt or reverse important gains made in the fight against the disease.&#8221;
Co-director of policy and strategic projects at Transgender Law Center, Cecilia Chung, also sat on the council and said she is skeptical of the plan. 
&#8220;I&#8217;m afraid that the promise will be in vain,&#8221; Chung told The Washington Post. 
At the end of 2015, the CDC <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/overview/index.html">estimated</a> that 1.1 million people above the age of 13 in the United States are infected with HIV including 162,500 people who are undiagnosed.

Trump To Announce Plan Stop HIV Transmission In U.S. By 2030 At State Of The Union

State of the Union

LGBT activists in France are claiming discrimination regarding a current law banning homosexual men from donating blood unless they remain celibate for a year.
&#8220;48-year-old Laurent Drelon has filed a discrimination suit challenging France&#8217;s requirement that gay men abstain from sex for one year before donating blood,&#8221; <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/human-rights-lawsuit-demands-gay-frenchmen-be-allowed-to-donate-blood">reports</a> LifeSiteNews. &#8220;The French Council of State upheld the rule last year.&#8221;
The lawsuit will go before the European Court of Human Rights. The one-year ban was originally meant as a compromise from a previous law that banned homosexuals from donating blood entirely. Drelon feels that even the one-year ban is a result of homophobia.
As noted by LifeSiteNews, the regulations against homosexual men donating blood stem from a Canadian blood scandal in the 1980s.
&#8220;In 1997, Justice Horace Krever <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/news/canadas-tainted-blood-scandal">released</a> a landmark commission report on systemic failures in Canada&#8217;s blood donation system that allowed approximately 2,000 Canadians to become infected with HIV from tainted blood in the 1980s,&#8221; the outlet reports. &#8220;The <a href="http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/hcan-scan/commission_blood_final_rep-e/vol2-e.pdf">report </a>attributed the crisis to a variety of factors, one of which being the decision to import plasma acquired from high-risk populations in the United States.&#8221;
Laurent Drelon&#8217;s attorney says that not only is France&#8217;s rule discriminatory toward gay men, it violates their right to privacy.
&#8220;It&#8217;s the first time that the ECHR will make a decision on whether French legislation is discriminatory or not,&#8221; attorney Patrice Spinosi said, alleging it &#8220;is based solely on a person&#8217;s sex and sexual orientation &#8230; and violates the right to privacy.&#8221;
The frequency of HIV among homosexual men was highlighted by the <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/pulse/by-lifting-blood-ban-for-gay-men-fda-decides-feelings-are-more-important-th">Associated Press</a> in 2015, which stated that &#8220;men who have had sex with other men represent about 2 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for at least 62 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S.&#8221; The Centers for Disease Control <a href="https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/nearly-two-thirds-of-gay-men-who-know-they-have-aids-have-sex-without-condo">admitted </a>in 2013 that &#8220;approximately 62% of gay men who knew they were infected with HIV/AIDS continued engaging in unprotected sex anyway.&#8221;
In 2015, the United States <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/it-s-still-ban-gay-blood-deferrals-still-discriminatory-lgbtq-n824166">ended its lifelong ban</a> of homosexuals giving blood, replacing it with a one-year deferral for those who were sexually active. The United Kingdom has instituted the same policy.
Activists still consider the deferral policy discriminatory.

France: Homosexual Activists Sue To Donate Blood

France

Health

LGBTQ

According to police, an abusive HIV-positive middle school teacher&#8217;s aide in Maryland allegedly sexually assaulted upward of 40 students and tried to infect at least five of his victims with the HIV virus.
Carlos Deangelo Bell, 30, who also coached one of the school&#8217;s track teams, was arrested in July over alleged abuse of 24 children; that number has since risen to 42.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Charles Co. State&#8217;s Atty: 100+ counts against Carlos Deangelo Bell covering May 2016-June 2017. 24 victims, 13 ID&#8217;d, 11 have not <a href="https://twitter.com/WTOP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WTOP</a> <a href="https://t.co/565NVel6N6">pic.twitter.com/565NVel6N6</a>
&#8212; Michelle Basch (@mbaschWTOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/mbaschWTOP/status/892071138372792320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 31, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
As reported by <a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/24/hiv-positive-school-aide-tried-to-infect-children-police-say/">The Daily Caller</a>, Deangelo Bell is now facing 206 counts on various sex abuse charges against children ranging in age from 11 to 17.
The alleged incidents <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/24/maryland-school-aide-with-hiv-accused-sexually-victimizing-42-children.html">reportedly</a> started in May of 2015 and took place at the 30-year-old&#8217;s home, Benjamin Stoddert Middle School, and other possible locations. The latest incident is believed to have taken place in June of 2017.
Deangelo Bell, aware that he is HIV-positive, used no protection when assaulting children, reports <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/police-school-aide-tried-to-give-students-hiv-sexually-assaulted-more-than-40/">CBS News</a>. The perp has been charged with five counts of attempting to knowingly transfer HIV.
Thus far, no victims have tested positive of the virus.
Below is the statement on the charges against Bell released by the <a href="http://ccsao.us/carlos-bell-indicted-additional-charges/">Charles County State&#8217;s Attorney&#8217;s Office</a>:
<blockquote>
La Plata, MD &#8211; Tony Covington, State&#8217;s Attorney for Charles County, Maryland, in conjunction with Charles County Sheriff Troy Berry and Superintendent of Charles County Public Schools Dr. Kimberly Hill, advises that on Friday, October 20, 2017, the Grand Jury for Charles County returned a 206 count indictment for Carlos Deangelo Bell of Waldorf. This third indictment against Bell includes the previous allegations found in two prior indictments filed on June 30, 2017 and July 28, 2017, as well as charges for additional victims uncovered during the ongoing investigation.
The 206 count indictment covers 28 identified alleged victims and 14 unidentified alleged victims. The time frame of the alleged conduct spans approximately 2 years from May of 2015 through June of 2017. The ages of the alleged victims at the time the offenses were committed range from 11 years old to 17 years old.
In open Court today, Bell was served with this latest indictment and served with the State&#8217;s notice that, if he is convicted of certain crimes alleged in the indictment, the State will be seeking a life sentence. Bell is still being held without bond. Trial on these charges is scheduled for January 8, 2018.
At this time, the State is not aware of any alleged victim having tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus. Previous reporting to the contrary made by certain media outlets was inaccurate.
The investigation into Carlos Bell&#8217;s activities is still ongoing. The Sheriff&#8217;s Office continues the effort to identify any and all alleged victims in this matter. The State&#8217;s Attorney&#8217;s Office strongly encourages parents/guardians to speak with any child that may have had contact with Carlos Bell and immediately report any relevant information to the Sheriff&#8217;s Office.
</blockquote>
<a href="http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/24/hiv-positive-school-aide-tried-to-infect-children-police-say/">H/T</a> The Daily Caller

Police: Sexually Abusive HIV-Positive Middle School Aide Tried To Infect Children

Children

Maryland

A hairdresser originally from Edinburgh, later living in Brighton, England, is accused of deliberately infecting his lovers with HIV, even chortling &#8220;I got you&#8221; after they had sex.
Daryll Rowe, 26, denies infecting four men with the virus and trying to infect six more, but his alleged victims have a different story to tell. The court heard that Rowe had sex with at least 10 men he met on Grindr <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4966242/Hairdresser-laughed-told-victim-HIV-infection.html">after he knew he was HIV positive</a>. The jury at Lewes Crown Court heard testimony from one of Rowe&#8217;s victims in which Rowe allegedly said, &#8220;I ripped the condom. Burn. I got you.&#8221;
Rowe later sent his victims text messages telling them he was HIV positive.
One complainant said Rowe told him he wanted intercourse without a condom but the complainant refused. Rowe later attempted to penetrate the complainant without a condom and the complainant forced him to don a condom.
<a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/hiv-hairdresser-grindr-victims-trial-burn-i-got-you-a7992871.html">The Independent</a> reported one exchange in the courtroom:
<blockquote>
Prosecutor Caroline Carberry QC said: &#8220;You told the police that he said, &#8216;Come on, come on, I&#8217;m fine, you know you want it&#8217;.&#8221; The complainant replied: &#8220;Yes, he did.&#8221; Ms Carberry said: &#8220;And what did you take &#8216;I&#8217;m fine&#8217; to mean?&#8221; He said: &#8220;That he was clean. That he had no diseases.&#8221;
</blockquote>
The complainant said Rowe sent him a stream of text messages, which he blocked, but then Rowe repeatedly phoned him.
The Independent continued:
<blockquote>
He allegedly told the complainant: &#8220;You think you can block me&#8221; and &#8220;I ripped the condom. Burn. I got you.&#8221; Giving evidence, the alleged victim said: &#8220;I basically said to him &#8216;Why would you say something like that?&#8217; That&#8217;s a really crazy thing to say to somebody, and then I just got worried so I wanted to listen to what he had to say and that was it. It was just panic. Worry.&#8221;
</blockquote>
The complainant said Rowe was &#8220;kind of laughing.&#8221; The complainant later tested positive for HIV.
Rowe&#8217;s first alleged victim told the court he received a message which read: &#8220;Maybe you have the fever. I came inside you and I have HIV LOL. Oops!&#8221;
Rowe was diagnosed with HIV in April 2015; he later he refused antiretroviral drugs to make him less contagious.
The four men Rowe is accused of infecting with HIV had strains of the disease highly similar to Rowe&#8217;s.

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