Why Does New York Still Criminalize People Living With STIs?
The Issue
New York State has led the world in the path to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not only did New York State pioneer effective sex education, needle exchange, and harm reduction programs, but it was one of the first states to spread the message proven by science: Undetectable = Untransmittable, meaning people with HIV who are on treatment and whose viral loads are undetectable cannot pass HIV to others during sex.
Despite all of this, Public Health Law 2307 remains New York State's dirty secret. The law makes it a misdemeanor for “any person who, knowing himself or herself to be infected with an infectious venereal disease, to have sexual intercourse with another [person].”
This means that under Public Health Law 2307, if you are living with an STI - including HIV, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, mpox, or syphillis and you have sex with another person, whether a spouse, partner, or romantic interest, you are at risk of being convicted of a misdemeanor.
Misdemeanors are serious convictions that can change the course of one’s life for the worse. A 2020 Brennan Center report highlights that misdemeanors drop one’s annual average earnings by 16%, which is nearly $100,000 over the course of one’s lifetime.
Because of Public Health Law 2307, people who receive medical care by getting tested, learning their diagnoses, and seeking treatment, are placed at legal risk that can carry lifelong consequences. New York State is listed on the Center for HIV Law & Policy’s Criminalization Map with anti-science, anti-human rights conservative states like Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.
This long echoes what AIDS activists have said for years: “Take The Test, Risk Arrest!”
Science tells us that HIV and STI criminalization increases stigma, discourages testing, serves as a barrier to evidence-based treatment and prevention services and undermines trust in public health and medicine.
Are people living with health conditions not allowed to show love, affection, and vulnerability to those that they care for? Are these people expected to shut themselves away and become pariahs of society?
Advocates like the SERO Project, the Legal Action Center, NYCLU, HIV Justice Worldwide, and Housing Works have demanded the repeal of HIV criminalization laws like Public Health Law 2307. As a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, ACT UP NY has always demanded that the government follow science to save lives from a disease that has killed 44.2 million people. We know fear, stigma, and criminalization don’t end epidemics. Evidence does.
Enough is Enough.
Repeal New York State Public Health Law 2307.
Sign now!
162
The Issue
New York State has led the world in the path to ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not only did New York State pioneer effective sex education, needle exchange, and harm reduction programs, but it was one of the first states to spread the message proven by science: Undetectable = Untransmittable, meaning people with HIV who are on treatment and whose viral loads are undetectable cannot pass HIV to others during sex.
Despite all of this, Public Health Law 2307 remains New York State's dirty secret. The law makes it a misdemeanor for “any person who, knowing himself or herself to be infected with an infectious venereal disease, to have sexual intercourse with another [person].”
This means that under Public Health Law 2307, if you are living with an STI - including HIV, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea, mpox, or syphillis and you have sex with another person, whether a spouse, partner, or romantic interest, you are at risk of being convicted of a misdemeanor.
Misdemeanors are serious convictions that can change the course of one’s life for the worse. A 2020 Brennan Center report highlights that misdemeanors drop one’s annual average earnings by 16%, which is nearly $100,000 over the course of one’s lifetime.
Because of Public Health Law 2307, people who receive medical care by getting tested, learning their diagnoses, and seeking treatment, are placed at legal risk that can carry lifelong consequences. New York State is listed on the Center for HIV Law & Policy’s Criminalization Map with anti-science, anti-human rights conservative states like Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.
This long echoes what AIDS activists have said for years: “Take The Test, Risk Arrest!”
Science tells us that HIV and STI criminalization increases stigma, discourages testing, serves as a barrier to evidence-based treatment and prevention services and undermines trust in public health and medicine.
Are people living with health conditions not allowed to show love, affection, and vulnerability to those that they care for? Are these people expected to shut themselves away and become pariahs of society?
Advocates like the SERO Project, the Legal Action Center, NYCLU, HIV Justice Worldwide, and Housing Works have demanded the repeal of HIV criminalization laws like Public Health Law 2307. As a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, ACT UP NY has always demanded that the government follow science to save lives from a disease that has killed 44.2 million people. We know fear, stigma, and criminalization don’t end epidemics. Evidence does.
Enough is Enough.
Repeal New York State Public Health Law 2307.
Sign now!
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Petition created on June 8, 2026