On Friday, the State Department - after consulting medical experts, and in response to a lawsuit filed by an HIV-positive job-seeker - said it no longer bans HIV-positive people from becoming US diplomats. HIV-positive candidates for Foreign Service will now be considered on an individual basis, along with others who have medical ailments, to determine their ability to meet the "worldwide availability" requirement, said the department.
The State Department's chief medical officer has "revised its medical clearance guidelines on HIV based on advances in HIV care and treatment and consultations with medical experts," said Gonzalo Gallegos, a department spokesperson. "The new clearance guidelines provide that HIV-positive individuals may be deemed worldwide available if certain medical conditions are met."
"The new guidelines mean that candidates for Foreign Service posts who have HIV will now be assessed on a case-by-case basis, as the law requires," said Bebe Anderson, project director for Lambda Legal. The gay legal organization represented Lorenzo Taylor, the plaintiff whose 2003 lawsuit was set to go to trial in less than two weeks.
"Now people like me who apply to the Foreign Service will not have to go through what I did," said Taylor, a trilingual international affairs expert whose application was rejected after he told the department his HIV status.
Lambda said Taylor's suit has been settled "partly due to the new guidelines." However, Gallegos said the policy change is not part of a settlement. "The change simply reflects medical advances in the area of HIV care and maintenance," he added.
02/15/08
State Department Drops Ban on HIV-Positive Diplomats After Pressure from Lawsuit
Source: Associated Press:: Matthew Lee; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention