Legal Action Center Interviews CHLP Policy & Advocacy Manager Amir Sadeghi

CHLP Policy and Advocacy Manager Amir Sadeghi sat down with Legal Action Center Senior Health Policy Attorney Christine Khaikin to talk about the persistent stigma and discrimination against New Yorkers living with HIV. CHLP and LAC have been working together to help people facing discrimination because of their STI or HIV status and to pass NY’s STI Decriminalization Act, which repeals NY Public Health Law 2307 – a harmful law that criminalizes those with STIs, including HIV, who have sex.

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• “I'd really ask our assembly members and our senators and the governor to make this a priority and pass the Repeal STI Discrimination Act, to stand up to the violence and dehumanization and discrimination that's being unleashed by the federal government, and to stand up to stigma that alienates people from testing and treatment and care. We know laws like this make it a lot harder to connect people in general to testing, which makes it harder to connect them to potentially life-saving treatment as well,” said Amir.
• “I don't think we can end the HIV epidemic or the STI epidemics with laws like this on the books. We know that it makes it harder to do the work that the New York State Health Department is trying its hardest to do to connect people to HIV and STI testing and treatment. Laws like this fundamentally undermine those strategies and approaches. So that's why I think it's really important for Albany to make this year the year that we finally repeal this law,” he continued.