On Friday, October 30th, President Barack Obama signed an extension of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS bill which provides care, treatment and support services to nearly half a million people, most of whom are low-income.
During the signing of this legislation, Obama also announced that the Department of Health and Human services has finally crafted a new regulation spelling the end to the HIV Travel and Immigration Ban. The regulation goes into effect in January.
This is the fourth re-authorization of the Ryan White bill, and Obama said it was the first time that the bill was not controversial or divisive, and passed with bi-partisian support.
Obama said he hoped the lifting of the travel ban would help end the stigma attached to HIV/AIDS. He also said that he and his wife Michelle would be getting a second AIDS test soon.
For 22 years, United States had one of the most restrictive policies on the immigration and travel of HIV-positive people in the world.
Obama called that outdated legislation “a decision rooted in fear rather than fact,” and went further to note: “We are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country,” he said. “If we want to be the global leader in HIV, we need to act like it. And that’s why, on Monday my administration will publish a final rule that eliminates the travel ban effective just after the New Year… It’s a step that will encourage people to get tested and get treatment, it’s a step that will keep families together, and it’s a step that will save lives.”
For more details about this legislation, visit 365Gay.com.
