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Federal judge rules HIV-positive individuals must be allowed to join the military

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled on Tuesday that the Pentagon’s arguments barring HIV-positive individuals from military service were not “supported by the evidence.”

“Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals.”

The judge didn’t say how the opportunity to serve next to HIV positive individuals would spur recruiting, but does she really need to explain such an obvious conclusion?

For reference, here is a short list of medical conditions that CAN get you disqualified from military service:

  • Allergies

  • Colorblindness

  • Missing teeth

  • Asthma

  • 2 or more concussions in the last 12 months

  • ADD/ADHD

In defending its policy, the Defense Department listed that an asymptomatic HIV- positive individual still could pose risk to the military’s mission for they may not be taking their medicine on a regimented basis which could lead to their viral loads rising; HIV which is incurable could be transmitted to other service members either through “blood spatters or transfusions” and those living with HIV could suffer greater comorbidities impacting their health and ability to serve. 

The Pentagon also raised concerns that the military would endure “significant costs” in order to pay for the HIV treatment of HIV-positive individuals. Antiretroviral costs are estimated to be between $10,000 and $25,000 per person annually. 

However plaintiffs argued that defense’s cost concern is not based on a rational basis, since the military “does not base accession decisions on the cost of healthcare for any other recruits with any other health condition.” 

“Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, and this court has already ruled that asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties,” Brinkema ruled.

as approved by america’s bestest medical expert