AIDS and the Rights of the Individual: Toward a More Sophisticated Understanding of Discrimination

AIDS is the first public health crisis in America to arise after the mid-century civil rights revolution. Reflecting the values of the civil rights movement, public health experts have drawn attention to the dangers of discrimination against individuals who are sick or at risk, and generally have expressed a preference for voluntary over compulsory measures to limit the spread of the illness. Remarkably, government officials--judges, legislators, and administrators--have largely acceded to the views of these experts. This perspective indicates a more sophisticated understanding of discrimination issues throughout society; experience with AIDS may itself help to transform and refine ideas about individual rights, especially the constitutional conception of "equal protection under the law."