Health Controversy: Did You Know That It's Illegal to Enter the U.S. if You Have HIV?

Say you live in another country and want to visit the U.S. If you're HIV-positive, you'll be turned away at customs. Why? Did you know that U.S. law forbids HIV-positive people from visiting the states? However, this controversial restriction is finally getting repealed ...

President Obama's announced Friday that he would end the two-decade ban on people with HIV from entering the country. He called the restriction "archaic" and "discriminatory," and public health experts hailed his decision.

Shockingly, the United States is just one of a small group of countries including Yemen, Qatar and Sudan, that bar HIV-visitors from crossing into their borders.

"It's just not supported by any evidence at this point, whether it was that people were coming into the United States and wildly infecting others or any other sound public health ground on which they could continue to exclude people," said Dana Van Gorder, executive director of Project Inform, an advocacy organization in San Francisco for people living with AIDS/HIV.

The travel restrictions on HIV-positive visitors is expected to be lifted by early next year.

What do you think of this? Did it shock you that such a ban was even in place?