Health News and Information

Most states also have laws that protect the citizens of that state against discrimination on grounds of handicap. Whether HIV infection is included in a state’s definition of handicap depends on the state: the laws that apply to people with HIV infection, needless to say, vary from state to state. The state laws against discrimination on grounds of handicap are often different from the federal laws. Some people with HIV infection find it useful to pursue claims of discrimination under either federal or state laws, or under both.     (Note: Some laws use the word handicap; others use the word disability. The two words mean the same thing.)     In general, state laws against discrimination govern such issues as your right to public accommodations, your right to housing and employment, your right to confidentiality, and your medical rights.     Your right to public accommodations-Public accommodations are more important than they sound. A public accommodation is any place open to and serving the public. Exactly which places are defined as public accommodations vary from state to state: some states include doctors’ offices, for instance, and some do not. Depending on the state, then, public accommodations can include schools, doctors’ offices, hospitals, hospices, barber and beauty shops, nursing homes, funeral homes, public transportation, restaurants, and hotels. Any place defined as a public accommodation cannot discriminate according to race, sex, creed, color, or (depending on the state) handicap. In most states, AIDS is defined as a handicap. In some states, having HIV infection but not AIDS may also be defined as a handicap.     Although all laws governing the right to public accommodations are similar, they will differ in detail according to the state. In some states, for instance, beauty shops are not allowed to treat someone with a contagious disease, and since HIV infection is contagious, those states could conceivably bar a person with that virus from a beauty shop. This is, however, an obviously unrealistic use of the word contagious, since the type of exposure that occurs in beauty shops carries no risk of transmitting HIV.     To find out the laws in your state, ask a lawyer. Lawyers can also draw up wills and help sort out problems with the Social Security system and with insurance companies.     Another source of information about discrimination is an agency called, in some states, the state human relations commission. In other states, it is called the state civil rights commission. If you think you have been denied public accommodations because of your HIV status, file a complaint with the state human relations or civil rights commission, and they will investigate. You will not need a lawyer to file a complaint. You will, however, need to be a pest, because agencies move slowly. You also need to remember that filing such a complaint will involve giving up the confidentiality of your HIV status.*198\191\2*

The trick is to balance acceptance of help with preservation of control. First, don’t give up independence too easily. “I have a friend with AIDS,” says Steven, “who sometimes asks me to bring stuff down from his attic or install his screen windows—things I know he can do for himself. I say no. I know, because I have other friends with AIDS, that he has to take some responsibility. Lots of people give up, but mental and physical health go hand in hand.” People feel better about accepting help if they think they’ve done their best to accomplish the task on their own first.      Next, accept the fact that having some help is going to be necessary. Certainly such physical limitations as fatigue require that you accept help. Helen, who had worried about depending on her parents or on welfare, made her peace with getting help. “I know I’m not going to be able to count on myself for everything,” she finally said. “I’m not going to be afraid of becoming dependent, of saying I need help. My father and stepmother have been very supportive. My church will always help.” Some people feel they need help so badly they have no choice but to accept it. Some people feel they can accept help because they have helped others: what goes around comes around, they say. Some can accept help because they understand that their caregivers need to be involved with them. Some know that if circumstances were reversed and their caregivers were sick, they would help their caregivers. Some feel they have led good enough lives that they are worthy recipients of care.
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