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Kenneth W. Shewell, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital Boston

JAMA. 1990;264(11):1407-1408.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.—

The recent article on litigation having to do with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS)¹ dealt with many aspects of AIDS-related discrimination. I was interested to note the many points put forward to obligate health care workers to treat AIDS patients: "The survey suggests that courts will legally enforce the professional obligation to treat HIV [human immunodeficiency virus]-infected patients" and "a decision not to treat... is likely to be viewed by the courts as medically unjustified and based on irrational fear or prejudice."

The article then makes a strong case for why personnel infected with HIV may not treat patients. The American Medical Association's position is quite clear—a "physician who knows he or she is seropositive should not engage in any activity that creates a risk of transmission of the disease to others.²" The Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs notes that "gloves cannot prevent penetrating . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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