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A bill to allow victims of sex crimes to seek HIV-AIDS testing of their alleged perpetrator is just two steps away from becoming law.
Convicted sex offenders are already subject to mandatory testing. HB336 would lower the bar, requiring that an individual only be charged before a victim could seek a court order for the testing.
The aim is to prevent victims from having to unnecessarily undergo a month-long preventive treatment for the sexually transmitted disease, said the bill's sponsor, Rep. Richard Greenwood. The treatment must be administered within 72 hours in order to work, and a conviction can take a year or longer, said the Roy Republican.
The bill cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday and heads now to the Senate floor. From there, if passed, it needs only the governor's signature before becoming law.
The bill is backed by victims rights advocates who say HIV prevention medicines are expensive and carry significant side effects, including nausea and fatigue.
"People are pretty much incapacitated for the month that they take this treatment," said Susan Chasson, the sexual assault nursing examiner coordinator for Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
The ACLU of Utah opposes the bill as unconstitutional, saying it opens the state up to lawsuits. The group also says it could hurt victims who forgo treatment based on assurances from an HIV test done on someone who is innocent of the alleged crime.
But Utah Crime Victims Council Chairman Reed Richards said such fears are unfounded. To get a court order, a victim would have to show probable cause, he said, noting law enforcement routinely takes blood and urine samples from suspects, including people arrested for driving under the influence.