Disclosure of HIV status and human rights: The duties and responsibilities of couples, medical professionals, family members and the state

Abstract This case history is about a young husband in India who became HIV positive and did not inform his wife. This man was working for a company in the city of Mumbai when he became ill with tuberculosis and was diagnosed with AIDS. This information was not disclosed to his 21-year-old wife, who was living with her parents-in-law in a rural area of South Kerala. He came home to recover and, supported by his parents' wishes, wanted his wife to become pregnant, even though she had asked that they wait until he had recovered. She came to know that her husband had AIDS and the dangers it posed only when she was eight months pregnant and he was seriously ill. Her husband died some three months after the baby was born and she went back to her parents' house, where she and the baby were living at the mercy of others. The contributors to this multi-authored Roundtable discuss the various human rights issues and the duties and responsibilities involved -not only of spouses and partners to each other but also of medical professionals, family members and the state-which arise from such a case.