PHILADELPHIA, February 10, 2026 — Since the onset of the HIV epidemic in the 1980s, states enacted HIV-specific criminal exposure laws that often criminalize non-transmissible behaviors regardless of intent or actual transmission of the virus. Decades of research and biomedical advances have rendered many of these laws inconsistent with our current understanding of the virus and how it can be prevented. As of December 31, 2024, 38 states (including Puerto Rico) have a law that specifically criminalizes HIV, STIs, and/or infectious disease exposure, according to new research published by the Center for Public Health Law Research (CPHLR) at Temple University Beasley School of Law.
The longitudinal dataset, published on LawAtlas.org, offers a more in-depth look at the complexities and nuances of laws related to exposure and disclosure of HIV infection.
It captures details of state statutes and regulations for the 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico from August 31, 2023, through December 31, 2024, that govern the criminalization of HIV, STIs, and infectious diseases. It includes laws that regulate communicable disease exposure, transmission, disclosure, and available defenses and possible sentences for criminal violations.
“These data offer a uniquely detailed description of these laws and can support researchers who study HIV criminalization laws, allowing them to better understand how these laws may affect people with HIV or an STI,” said Katie Moran-McCabe, JD, a lead law and policy analyst at the CPHLR and the lead researcher on this project.
Other results from this research include:
Twenty-six states have HIV-specific criminalization laws.
Four states (California, Nevada, Virginia, and Washington) require transmission of the virus for at least some criminal offenses.
Eleven states require the intent to transmit the virus for at least some criminal offenses.
Eighteen states have available defenses specified in the law; consent is the most widely available defense and is present in the laws of 10 states.
Thirty-two states have a maximum sentence length for violating laws regulating potential infectious disease exposure. This ranges from 30 days (South Carolina and West Virginia) to life imprisonment (in Washington, if HIV is intentionally transmitted to a child or vulnerable adult).
Twenty-two states have a law making it a felony to violate laws related to potential infectious disease exposure, whereas 20 states have a law making it a misdemeanor to violate laws related to potential infectious disease exposure.
Twenty-one states have a sentence enhancement statute that increases the penalty or the degree of a crime (e.g., from misdemeanor to felony), or both, when the defendant is a person who has HIV or an STI.
The dataset was created using policy surveillance, a scientific legal mapping tool to create high quality legal data.
The Center for Public Health Law Research at Temple University Beasley School of Law creates and advances research on the health effects of laws and policies. Learn more at phlr.temple.edu.