Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/04/12/oklahoma-law-criminalizes-giving-others-common-stds.html
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This is some draconian bullshit; unlike most STI’s, HPV can go away on its own.
Which means that this law is just a ploy to enforce someone’s false morality and populate the for profit prison system.
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Not questioning the problems with this law, that seems like the right conclusion. But, is some better version of it necessary or a good idea? Or is there case law that it’s already illegal, like being a form of reckless endangerment or something?
Personally I think this is also a question we should have asked about cell phones. Clarity is great, but I wish it didn’t need to be a separate, additional offense when it should be totally straightforward to just say it’s distracted driving. And yes, I do understand why, in practice that often isn’t how things happen.
Just more weaponizing and demonizing medical care and medical providers. I hate this timeline so, so much…
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My initial reaction was similar to @Mindysan33
But perhaps you mean in something like the a case where someone is deliberately “stealthing” (removing a condom during intercourse without their partners knowledge) with the knowledge that they were HIV positive, disregarding the partners intent, knowledge and status?
I think if that was the case, I’d want some sort of legal recourse.
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I think that’s already some form of assault? Local laws may differ and inherent misogyny and christofascist authoritarianism abounds.
I believe that there probably is under other laws.
Once again, much like laws designed to “protect” kids from “teh gayz” this is a law designed to PUNISH people, not to protect people. Why the hell would we take ANYTHING the GOP says at this point at face value about protecting anyone. They DO NOT GIVE A SHIT AND HOPE TO WIPE OUT EVERYONE THEY HATE. I really don’t know why we take anything these fascists say seriously anymore, given that they have no interest in doing anything productive. Stop treating them as if they’re acting in a normal manner, when they are absolutely not.
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Oh we should take ANYTHING the GOP says as being the opposite pretty much as default.
Is the law designed to be punitive? Especially of anyone not in that evangelical camp? Absolutely.
We HAVE to take them seriously though, because we cannot ignore them. And, at this point a lot of them ARE saying the “quiet part loud.” When someone shows you who they are, believe them. They have to be fought on all the fronts. (that being said, laughing AT them really pisses them off and diminishes them and their power).
It’s just so damn exhausting. They have indefatigable stupidity to go with the endless malice.
That’s not what I meant, and I suspect you know that. I meant that when they SAY that they’re passing a law to “protect” people, we should call them on their bullshit. That’s what I meant. FFS.
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No, I did not know exactly what you meant. I parsed that as blanket “can’t take them seriously”
Thank you for clarifying.
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Deliberately causing the risk of infection of someone has been held a form of assault in cases involved HIV, so why not HPV.
As noted, though, HPV is very widespread in countries which don’t routinely vaccinate teenagers for it (like the UK does) and lots of people carry it without knowing.
It’s a basic principle of law that the defendant has to have the knowledge and intention of committing a crime, as well as acting it out. From that angle, I don’t see how you can criminalise people for merely being infected with a disease they don’t know they might have.
If you did, what about all those people wandering around without face masks and/or deliberately not getting vaccinations?
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Yet… something tells me Oklahoma won’t be passing a law that criminalizes people for recklessly spreading COVID and measles.
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This is my concern. It (I hope unintentionally) incentivizes people to not get tested, and since that is necessary to get treated, it may very well have to effect of decreasing the number of folks who are seeking treatment for STI’s. This would have the (possibly intended) effect of making the act of sex much more dangerous. I have to suspect this would make the Christofascists pushing this shit very, very happy. A way to punish the heathen sex-havers with plausible deniability on their part. And be able to claim they are “only trying to protect people.” A phrase which should make folks very afraid.
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I don’t get it. How can they establish who gave it to whom?
It sounds like the law effectively outlaws having sex if you have HPV, but given how common HPV is, it effectively outlaws having sex and…oh, now I get it.
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And there is still no test for the males of our species, so this particular STI is only a crime for the ladies. SMDH.
ETA: turns out these laws are far more common than I realized.
Most are specific to HIV but several states have something more akin to this new OK law. They already had one on the books, now I’m curious about what the new law updates.
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