Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
This article surveys proposals for public health statutes and regulations to control the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The data were collected by the Harvard School of Public Health in pursuance of a contract for the U.S. assistant secretary for health and by the Intergovernmental Health Policy Project at George Washington University. The intention is to provide a representative overview of legal and policy alternatives, not to offer a comprehensive account of statutes and proposals in all jurisdictions. The AIDS epidemic has refocused attention on public health law, raising anew questions about the application, effectiveness, and constitutionality of various disease control measures. State and local legislatures have considered a broad range of measures designed to control the spread of AIDS. Virtually every state legislature has debated AIDS-related bills; between January 1 and April 15, 1987, more than 360 AIDS-related bills were introduced in the United States. Thus far, approximately twenty-eight states have enacted AIDS-related legislation.
Gostin et al. (Thu,) studied this question.