Obama Overturns Ban on HIV-Positive Travelers

President Obama has signed a bill that overturns a 22-year-old ban preventing HIV-positive tourists, students, and refugees from entering the United States.

The lift is set to take effect at the beginning of 2010.

The ban against HIV travelers was instituted in 1987, when there was still a lot of mystery, concern, and ignorance surrounding the virus.  However, the ban has remained in effect despite medical advances and new information. 

Obama said the ban was implemented because of fear not fact, and that overturning the ban is necessary if the United States hopes to be the global leader in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

The ban recently received attention when a British HIV and Tuberculosis expert was unable to attend a public health summit in Seattle this year because he is HIV positive.

Several other countries still ban HIV-positive travelers from entering the country, including China, Sudan, Brunei, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Armenia, Iraq, Moldova, Oman, Qatar, and Libya.

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