2023-11-12 05:00:18
[박창범 닥터To닥터]
Entered 2023.11.12 14:00 Views 0 Entered 2023.11.12 14:00 Modified 2023.11.12 09:26 Views 0
People infected with HIV must inform their partners of their infection and engage in consensual sexual intercourse, even if they are taking drugs and are unlikely to infect others through sexual activity. [사진= 게티이미지뱅크]New diseases cause fear and anxiety in the public. People who are subject to such discrimination may be rejected by their families and communities, or may feel social alienation and loss. It can also cause infected people to hide their infection and prevent them from receiving treatment. The most representative diseases are people infected with HIV and AIDS, the so-called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome.
HIV was first discovered in the 1980s, and at the time, it was recognized as an acute infectious disease due to its high mortality rate in the early stages of the disease. However, with the development of antiviral combination therapy since the mid-1990s, the number of cases of HIV carriers progressing to AIDS has drastically decreased, and the number of cases of HIV carriers developing AIDS has drastically decreased. As the survival period was rapidly extended and the transmissibility was also greatly reduced, it turned into a chronic infectious disease. Therefore, even if you are infected with HIV, if you receive appropriate treatment for complications related to antiviral drug treatment, there is little chance of spreading the disease to others and you can live a normal life like a normal person.
However, according to Article 19 of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Prevention Act, ‘An infected person must not spread the disease to other people through blood or body fluids.’ So, is it a problem if a person infected with HIV discloses that he or she is infected and engages in consensual sexual intercourse without using a condom? Does it still matter if I use a condom? Is it a problem if an infected person engages in similar acts, such as oral sex, without informing the other person that he or she is infected? Recently, a ruling related to this came out and is attracting attention.
While hiding the fact that he was infected with HIV, A engaged in similar acts, such as oral sex, rather than actual sexual intercourse, with a woman. Accordingly, A was indicted on the grounds that she had spread the virus through her blood or body fluids. The relevant court ruled that it is unclear what kind of acts, such as sexual acts or similar acts, are included in the ‘radiation-mediated activities’ defined in the law, it is unclear what ‘bodily fluids’ stipulated in the law are, and the current legal provisions’ vague prohibition of radio-mediated acts prevents harm to others. Infected people who are not at risk of being infected are asked to give up all contact-related human relationships, thereby infringing on their right to freedom of action and the right to pursue happiness, and the level of punishment is too excessive compared to other diseases.
The Constitutional Court ruled that even if an infected person has received medical treatment and the possibility of transmitting HIV is significantly low, the other party can decide at their own discretion whether to have sexual intercourse with the infected person or take preventive measures by informing the other party that he or she is an infected person. It is said that the other party’s right to self-determination must be guaranteed so that the law stipulates that ‘bodily fluids’ are limited to body fluids containing HIV that can cause infection in others, and ‘transmission-mediating acts’ are acts that can infect others with HIV. For example, it was judged to be limited to activities that have the potential to infect others with HIV, such as failure to take preventive measures such as condom use, breastfeeding, use of contaminated needles or medical equipment, blood transfusion, and administration of blood products. .
However, even though the possibility of an HIV-infected person infecting another person with HIV is significantly low, the current law does not follow the principle of clarity, saying that if a person engages in sexual intercourse without informing the other person that he or she is infected and without taking precautions, it is considered a ‘transmission-mediating act’. Even if it is not a violation and there is no risk of infecting others, forcing infected people to report their infection causes them to give up all human relationships, violating their right to freedom of action and the right to pursue happiness, and the degree of punishment is too excessive compared to other diseases. Intense physical contact is not prohibited or subject to punishment, and informing the other person that one is infected is reasonable because it must guarantee the other person’s right to self-determination, and negative perceptions or stigmatization of infected people should not be solved by abolishing the relevant law. It needs to be resolved through active awareness-raising education or publicity, and it is difficult to say that the punishment is too strong compared to the responsibility, and it was judged constitutional, saying it had minimal infringement and a balance between legal interests. (Constitutional Court 2023.10.23. 2019Hunga30 decision)
For reference, in the United States, more than half of the states have regulations punishing infected people for spreading the virus, and in Japan, there are no regulations prohibiting or punishing infected people for spreading the virus. Germany does not have any special punishment regulations for the transmission of infection by an infected person, but if an infected person engages in sexual intercourse without a condom, it is punished even if HIV infection does not occur. However, recently, it is said that there is an increasing number of cases in which infected people are acquitted or not indicted if they have received good drug treatment and the HIV test results have proven to be below the detection limit.
In summary, even if a person infected with HIV is unlikely to infect others through sexual activity due to taking drugs, he or she must inform the other person that he or she is infected and engage in consensual sexual intercourse. Additionally, the bodily fluids specified in the law are bodily fluids that can cause infection in others, and transmission-mediating activities are limited to those that can infect other people. What you need to be aware of is that even if you are an HIV-infected person who has a very low chance of infecting others with HIV, if you engage in sexual intercourse without informing the other person that you are infected and without taking precautions, you should be aware of the fact that it is considered a ‘transmission-mediating act’.
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