When I found out about my HIV status, some friends who I told I am positive suggested that I tell the previous contacts (who I could have possibly infected when I still didn't know my status) to get tested. They even told me to get a dummy SIM card and send those people anonymous messages. I decided NOT, and I remain with my position.
Today, a friend has met a pozzie online, and he volunteered to be the 'third' party to tell the HIV pozzie's (lets call him R****) previous contact (lets call him A****) to get tested. Again, I may be wrong, but I remain.
(Friend): As a third party, protecting R****'s anonymity, I contacted A**** with R****'s message for him to get tested
(ME): Uhuh
(Friend): And R****'s message was very non-judgmental, no guilt no 'kawawa' drama
(Friend): A**** ignored my message - this morning A**** thought he was chatting with a new guy in Taguig and invited him over for sex - but he was actually chatting with R**** who wanted to get his CP for the health department.
(ME): R**** shouldn't be giving A****'s number no matter how good is the intention
(ME): I do not agree with what he's (A****'s) doing
(Friend): Then you are lucky to live in the Philippines
(Friend): (Smiley)
(ME): I respect A****'s, or anyone else's privacy, and at the same time, I give the responsibility to him to check on his health
(ME): R**** may be concerned, but doesn't have the right to disclose to anyone, not even the health department what "could" be A****'s (possible) status
(Friend): I told R**** that in the states, the Health Dept has full time employees who spend their entire career tracing spreaders of HIV.
(ME): He could get into trouble.
(Friend): Are you telling me that the health department here does not ask for the names of who you've had sex with?
(ME): No, they don't and they can't.
(ME): I mean theres a law against explicitly disclosing someone else's (possible) status
(Friend): It's a mandatory question in the states
(ME): Not here
(ME): Which is good i guess
(ME): I mean, you are putting someone else's privacy into jeopardy
(Friend): Life is more important than privacy
(ME): Privacy could mean 'a certain quality of life'
(ME): Its not just 'life' we have to consider, but the quality of life
(Friend): If Guy A is tested, and his test is positive, then Guy A commits a crime every time he has unprotected sex in the future
(ME): That's up to guy A and his partner
(ME): A responsible partner wouldn't have unprotected sex
(ME): So its not just guy A, but a consent from guy B
(ME): No crime is committed.
(Friend): Right now in Germany a female rock star is on trial for knowing she had HIV and giving it to 3 different male partners
(ME): Yes, that's true.
(ME): If you know that you are positive and you deliberately act so as to infect someone, that could be ASSAULT
(Friend): Under German law, she is required to notify the partner of her HIV status
(Friend): In the states, attempted murder
(ME): Yes, you are required to tell, if you know that you will be infecting the partner
(ME): That is, by 'deliberately' not protecting
(ME): But if it's not putting the partner into grave danger, say you've taken protection, then that's not assault
(Friend): A**** apparently likes to fuck younger men without condoms
(ME): A responsible HIV positive wouldn't wanna get fucked without condoms
(ME): No matter how the partner wants it
(ME): Now if the partner insists fucking a positive guy without rubber after the positive person refuses, no assault there
(Friend): Are you going to go to law school?
(ME): I hope I am. Why? (Smiley)
(Friend): (Smiley)
(ME): Hehehe
(ME): One doesn't have to be in the law school to make sense of some principles and postulates
(Friend): Because you are arguing how many lawyers can dance on the head of a pin
(ME): (Wink)
(Friend): My postulate is this: 1. If someone says you have a 50/50 chance of being the guy who infected him with HIV, then you have two obligations 1. to be tested and 2. No matter what the result, negative or positive, you must use condoms on all future acts of penetration.
(ME): I take number 2
(ME): That's the responsible choice
(Friend): Did you notice in his (A****) profile, the number of young men he has his arm around?
(Friend): He has a moral obligation to others to be tested
(ME): Should we judge him as to how many men he has?
(ME): What he should do is to protect himself
(ME): And the partners
(ME): Say he gets tested, and he tested positive
(ME): What do we do then? Shall we stop him for f**king others?
(Friend): And to hell with the past ?
(ME): What about the past?
(Friend): You should never work in infectious disease control
(ME): If you ask me, am I responsible for the guys I could have possibly infected when I didn't know I have IT, I'd say "NO!"
(ME): I am responsible for my future contacts
(ME): Not with the past. Things happened because of our choices
(ME): There were times I wasn't responsible that's why I had it
(ME): But at the same time, I didn't tell the former partners to be not responsible
(ME): As far as I know, at the point of contact, I was safe and I wanna take the risk by doing it 'unsafe' with them
(Friend): You need to read And The Band Played On
(ME): So I cannot be held responsible for them in the same way that they shouldn't be responsible for me
(ME): If there are people I am responsible to, that's the future partners am gonna do it with
(ME): I have to make sure i do it safely so as not to endanger them
(Friend): I can see this debate is not going anywhere
(Friend): You need to read And The Band Played On
(ME): Hmmm!
(ME): My only point is that you cannot be responsible from that which you didn't WILL.
(Friend): I don't see it as a philosophical argument - I see it as a public health issue, and the health of the public body is more important than the rights of the individual
(ME): Don't you think the public needs to protect themselves among anyone or anybody else?
(ME): Would a responsible public engage in unsafe sex?
(Friend): You're making it a philosophical question
(ME): Would you like some authority to impose on its people how they should be doing things, including that personal act of having sex?
(ME): They can only influence and advocate
(Friend): A disease that kills is NOT a philosophical question
(ME): In the end, the individual is responsible for himself
(Friend): Oh Jesus I give up!
(ME): I am sorry. I couldn't just accept it.
(ME): Would you like me to jeopardize my own privacy
(ME): Or if for example it is you, your privacy jeopardized? Would you like it?
(ME): Try putting yourself in the position of all the positive
(Friend): Whatever, bye
(ME): I am sorry.
**PS:
This is the actual transcipt, except that some spellings have been auto corrected. The names were also changed for privacy's sake.
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