Legislation

Criminal penalties for living with HIV have never served an effective law enforcement purpose. No credible research has ever linked penalties with a reduction in HIV transmission. 

In the 30 years since the penalties became law, they have rarely been charged, so why has our coalition including PA HIV Justice Alliance, Positive Women’s Network, Girl U Can Do It Inc., Philadelphia FIGHT, Sero Project, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation spent decades advocating to remove them. Because stigmatizing a medical condition instead of treating it has never gotten us anywhere.

In the early Nineties, when Americans were dying from HIV at an all-time high rate, Congress passed the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act to pay for HIV treatment. In a misguided attempt to prevent HIV transmission, the Ryan White Act required states seeking funding to have laws that criminally punish anyone who intentionally exposed someone to HIV. Of course, every state already had laws to punish those who harm others in various ways. But Pennsylvania and many other states did not want to miss out on vital funding to provide HIV care. So state legislators passed HIV-specific criminal laws that initiate or enhance charges against people living with HIV. Amendments to the Ryan White Act in 2000 removed this requirement, but HIV criminalization remained.

Over the years, the Pennsylvania Legislature wisely removed all but one reference to HIV in the criminal code, and we celebrate the removal of that last reference.

Linking HIV to crime is just wrong. It’s discriminatory and stigma-producing, which just fuels the AIDS epidemic. In the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania’s 38 years of existence, we have provided free legal services on 50,000 legal matters to more than 25,000 people living with HIV. We regularly hear from our clients that stigma impedes their lives and dissuades them from seeking health care and sharing their diagnosis with others. If people are afraid to get tested and treated for fear that someone will learn that they are living with HIV, the epidemic will never end. To reduce stigma, we need to root it out wherever it can be found, including in outdated legislation that doesn’t protect anyone.

Removing stigmatizing language from the criminal code doesn’t create any gaps in the laws that protect Pennsylvanians. Instead it protects us all by supporting sound public health policies.

State Representatives Ben Waxman and Malcolm Kenyatta, along with Senator Vincent Hughes, championed the removal of the offensive enhancement. The removal of HIV from the criminal code was not a popular initiative, and the legislators who made it happen had nothing to gain by taking it on. The arguments to remove the HIV-related enhancement were so compelling that SB45, a bill addressing human trafficking, adopted the language and quickly passed in the Senate 49-1 and the House 202-0. On July 20, 2026 Governor Shapiro signed into law SB45, removing the final reference to HIV in the commonwealth’s criminal code.

We can all proudly say HIV is not a crime in Pennsylvania. 

Selected Statements from Organizations Supporting Decriminalization of HIV

Other Resources

  • Susquehanna Polling and Research poll (Sept. 2025): According to the poll, 88% of Pennsylvanians believe that people living with HIV should receive the health and treatment they need, rather than face criminal charges.
  • The Weight of Science: Decriminalizing HIV in Pennsylvania (2023): This report by the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, in collaboration with the PA HIV Justice Alliance, outlines the ways in which people living with HIV are criminally punished in Pennsylvania for activity that would not be a crime but for their HIV status. HIV criminalization disregards science, is counterproductive to public health goals, and perpetuates stigma against people living with HIV.
Legislation History

The AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, along with coalition partners including PA HIV Justice Alliance, Positive Women’s Network, Girl U Can Do It Inc., Philadelphia FIGHT, Sero Project, and the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation have been advocating for decades to remove Pennsylvania’s HIV-related felony enhancement. This work included years of visits to Harrisburg to meet with legislators and testify before various committees. These efforts pushed the state legislature to finally recognize that a law punishing people living with HIV more severely because of a medical condition is discriminatory, promotes stigma, and is bad for public health. 

  • July 20, 2026 Governor Shapiro signed into law SB45, removing the final reference to HIV in the commonwealth’s criminal code.
  • July 12, 2026: SB45 passed out of the Pennsylvania House 202-0.
  • June 8, 2026: SB45 passed out of the Pennsylvania Senate 49-0.
  • March 24, 2026: the coalition to decriminalize HIV in Pennsylvania had a successful lunch and learn in Harrisburg – click here for more information.
  • March 18, 2026: the language from SB647 and HB632 to remove the HIV-related felony enhancements were included in SB45, a bill to address human trafficking.
  • March 10, 2026: the Pennsylvania House Judiciary Committee voted HB632 out of committee, moving it toward a full House vote, a Senate vote on companion bill SB647, and the Governor’s signature.
  • June 2, 2025: a Judiciary Committee hearing was convened. Testifiers (Andrea Johnson, Dr. Jay Kostman, Sean Strub, and Ronda Goldfein) spoke in support of HB632. You can watch a recording of the hearing here.
  • April 21, 2025: Senator Hughes introduced a companion bill SB647 and it was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. No further action has yet been taken on SB647.
  • February 20, 2025: Representative Waxman introduced HB632, and it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
  • March 21, 2024: members of the Coalition traveled to Harrisburg in support of the bills.
  • February 2024: State Senator Vincent Hughes and Representatives Benjamin Waxman and Malcolm Kenyatta introduced legislation to repeal Pennsylvania’s felony sentencing enhancement for people living with HIV who are charged with prostitution.

✕