The new AIDS virus--ineffective and unjust laws

Public alarm about the spread of AIDS leads to public demand for drastic laws to contain the epidemic and to punish those who spread it. In this paper, attention is drawn to the limitations of the law in achieving the modification of human behavior. Successes and failures in public health education campaigns, directed to the same end, are mentioned. The author cautions against putting too much trust in the law to achieve containment of the AIDS virus. However, there are three reasons for optimism about the developing laws on AIDS. These are the necessity of a rare degree of international cooperation, the encouragement of attention to fresh approaches to laws on human sexuality and drug taking, and the vital importance of attention to the neglected issues of efficiency and cost effectiveness in the design of new laws. This last point leads to a suggestion that AIDS has produced three new viruses called "HIL" (highly inefficient laws). HIL-I is the mandatory testing of the entire population for HIV antibodies. HIL-II is the mandatory testing of specially vulnerable groups, especially foreigners. HIL-III is the mandatory requirement of HIV-free certificates at the frontier. The ineffectiveness and potential for injustice of such laws are exposed. The lesson derived is that there is no "quick fix" either for the AIDS virus itself or for the social and legal problems presented by it.