After 22 Years, U.S. Lifts Entry Ban on Visitors With HIV
David Sessions
Washington Reporter
Posted:
01/4/10
The United States has lifted a 22-year ban that prevented people with HIV/AIDS from entering the country, the BBC reports. The Obama administration changed the rule in preparation for a summit on the disease that the U.S. plans to host in 2012.
In October, Obama said the entry ban was "rooted in fear rather than fact. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic -- yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country."
The ban was put in place in the late 1980s at the height of global panic over the disease. The United States was one of only 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Libya, that prevented people with HIV from crossing its borders.
In October, Obama said the entry ban was "rooted in fear rather than fact. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic -- yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country."
The ban was put in place in the late 1980s at the height of global panic over the disease. The United States was one of only 12 countries, including Saudi Arabia and Libya, that prevented people with HIV from crossing its borders.