Florida HIV disclosure law only applies to heterosexuals says appellate court

Todd A. Heywood of the Iowa Independent reports that an appellate court in Florida has ruled that the state’s HIV disclosure law does not apply in the case of a woman accused of having sex with another woman but failing to disclose her HIV-positive status.

The judges found that because the law referenced ‘sexual intercourse’ that it could only be applied to heterosexual activity since intercourse is only defined as “the penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.” They overturned the woman’s conviction.

The ruling has already had an impact on a case in Treasure Island, where the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorneys Office threw out a case against a gay man charged with failing to disclose his HIV-positive status to his partner of four years.

Click here to see News13 video about Treasure Island HIV case.