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• san antonio 2008

January 03, 2009

LGBT PA Caucus urges members and supporters not to patronize the Manchester Hyatt hotel at the 2009 AAPA Conference in San Diego. More details here.

November 20, 2008

LBGT PA Caucus Signs onto Amicus Brief

The LBGT PA Caucus had an opportunity to sign onto an amicus brief on a court case in the state of Wisconsin that if left unaddressed will set a new precedence regarding HIV employment discrimination and appears to be based on the courts arbitrary, or inconsistent with medical knowledge, distinction between HIV and AIDS.  We invited the Physician Assistant AIDS Network (PAAN), who also signed on, as well as the AAPA.   This brief is supported by medical groups and explains to the court the relationship between HIV and AIDS and why the court was incorrect in viewing HIV and AIDS as distinctly separate medical conditions.  A second brief was also filed on behalf of HIV advocacy groups that explains why, in the context of employment discrimination on the basis of HIV status, proof that the individual meets the definition of “disabled” under the ADA may include evidence related to the impact on that individual of having AIDS. 

An amicus brief was initially filed on behalf of AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin, AAHIVM (of which PAs are members), Association of  Nurses in AIDS Care, HIV Medicine Association and Howard Brown Health Center.   To illustrate the broad level of concern in the scientific community (including the medical and health care communities) about the court’s misunderstanding of the relationship between HIV and AIDS and it’s misuse of that distinction to deny people with HIV the protection of the ADA, additional friends-of-the-court were invited.

Read the amicus brief (pdf)