Ethical Analyses Concerning The Protection Of AIDS Patients’ Rights

Objective:Since the first AIDS cases reported in 1985, HIV has been spreading in our country from high-risk groups to the general public, entering the stage of wide spreading, causing serious impacts on the economic and social development of our nation. As the actual victims of the virus, HIV-infected persons and AIDS patients are suffering from not only physical pains but also discrimination from non-infectors which is much more deadly than the disease itself. Severe social discrimination disables HIV-infected persons and AIDS patients to enjoy their equal rights, including medical care, employment, education and other rights. Many people living with HIV in order to avoid discriminatory and humiliating treatment would opt for anonymity and do not participate in testing, and this behavior makes more people exposed to being infected by high risk behaviors, which not only makes themselves lose the best timing for treatment but also harms the public health, making the rising number of new infections. This article will analyze the current situation of the protection of HIV-infected persons and AIDS patients, and make analyses of phenomenon & reasons of discrimination as well as ethical issues concerning the protection of equal rights of HIV-infected persons and AIDS patients, so as to provide objective, concrete and feasible suggestions, promoting the rights protection so that we could prevent the secret spreading of the virus and protect public health along with social stability.Methods:Literature review: through reading relevant literature from both home and abroad referring to the research focuses, existing issues and advanced experience of protection of HIV-infected persons’ and AIDS patients’ rights; history analysis method: through literature review on the development of AIDS virus from its initiality to is prevalence, then we could draw experience and lessons from history; comparative research method: make comparisons between home and abroad concerning the situation of prevalence, the policies, measures and laws adopted so that we could learn from the foreign successful experience in responding to HIV/AIDS, providing some reference to the concrete practice of China.Problem:Through research and comparison, we could find that there are many shortcomings concerning the protection of HIV-infected persons’ and AIDS patients’rights—they could not actually enjoy their rights in daily lives. Infected people are still living with serious stigma and discrimination, to avoid which, a lot of people with high-risk behaviors would dodge testes leading to the stealth spread of the AIDS virus. The exercise of the right of privacy of HIV-infected persons and AIDS patients plays an important role in the realization of equal rights and the protection of them from discrimination has everlasting and profound significance, while there should be more discussion on the boundary of the exercise of the right of privacy, especially when there are conflicts concerning the privacy of HIV-infected persons/ AIDS patients and their spouses’ and sex partners’ right of life and health.Suggestions:Through literature review and employing the method of comparativeanalyses, we will find deficiency on the protection of the rights of people living withHIV in China. Compared with the other countries of the world, we should learn fromthe successful and fruitful experience of foreign countries; within our ownmotherland, different provinces and regions should learn effective measures fromeach other concerning this problem. Provide psychological counseling forHIV-infected persons and AIDS patients. The HIV/AIDS-related publicity andoutreach efforts to increase knowledge of them should be strengthened, and not justlimited to forms, not only during the annual World AIDS Day publicity; this shouldbe spread to grass-roots level, especially remote rural areas. In addition, the mostimportant thing is to gradually eliminate the social discrimination towardsHIV-infected persons and AIDS patients, and to improve the qualities of life andliving standards of patients with AIDS. We should also pay attention to the hospicecare of AIDS patients, allowing them to die with respect and less pain.