KENTUCKY (WEHT) – A new law will take effect in Kentucky on Thursday that updates previous HIV statutes and eliminates two HIV-related felonies.
House Bill 349 eliminates a Class C felony that prohibited the sale, delivery, holding or offering for sale of HIV self-test kits. The bill also eliminates a Class D felony related to people with HIV who donate organs, skin or human tissue. The federal HOPE Act decriminalized people with HIV donating organs to other people living with HIV in 2013.
HB349 also adds trichomoniasis to the list of sexually transmitted infections eligible for “expedited partner therapy”.
Officials with the Kentucky HIV is Not a Crime Coalition say they will convene a summit in August to set priorities to further HIV decriminalization efforts on the 2024 Kentucky General Assembly and beyond.
