HIV advocates and legal experts say that Michigan’s local health departments and the state Department of Community Health are using documents that exaggerate the risks of HIV transmission and misstate the laws regarding disclosure, The Michigan Messenger reports. These “client acknowledgement forms” used by health departments are erroneously stating that it is illegal for an HIV-positive person to engage in unprotected sex and that it is a felony to share needles without disclosing an HIV-positive status. Furthermore, some counties are using signed disclosure forms to prosecute HIV-positive people for failing to disclose their status before sex, but it is never indicated that the forms can be used in criminal proceedings. Advocates are calling for the forms to be recalled.

To read the Messenger article, click here.