(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday signed legislation that decriminalizes spreading HIV, in addition to other measures designed to improve the lives of LGBTQ people.
At the Center on Halsted, the governor called the old law that criminalized the transmission of HIV “archaic.”
“It’s high time that we treat HIV as was we do other treatable, transmissible diseases, thereby treating our residents with dignity and furthering our mission to end this epidemic,” Pritzker said.
State Sen. Robert Peters of Chicago celebrated Illinois becoming the second state to make such changes.
“The decriminalization of HIV is about moving away from the stigma of HIV,” Peters said.
Also Tuesday, Pritzker signed bills extending insurance coverage for fertility treatments to gay couples and allowing them to get marriage certificates without gender-specific terms and reflecting legal name changes.
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