South Carolina Should Make ‘Serious, Conscious Choices’ To Address HIV/AIDS, Opinion Piece Says

South Carolina "must make some serious, conscious choices about how to handle" problems associated with HIV/AIDS, Jacqueline Fox, an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, writes in a Columbia State opinion piece.

According to Fox, South Carolina has registered about 16,000 HIV/AIDS cases; however, stigma and a "lack of testing resources may be preventing" state officials "from knowing the full breadth of" HIV/AIDS in the state. Fox writes that the state should "remove the mystery and stigma" associated with the disease, adding that it is "critically important" for the state to "decide now" about its "commitment to ongoing treatment of HIV."

According to Fox, South Carolina "can do better both medically and ethically" in providing HIV treatment and support services. The state "needs to take a hard look at itself and decide what" it needs to do to address HIV/AIDS, she writes, concluding that the state "can set the tone for how the rest of the South should grapple with these issues about justice and HIV" (Fox, Columbia State, 3/19).