Suit seeks forced treatment for prostitute with HIV

AMARILLO, Texas (AP) -- City officials have filed a lawsuit against a prostitute with the virus that causes AIDS, asking a court to send her into treatment to get her to stop spreading the infection.
The woman, identified in court papers only by the initials T.T., has infected at least one person and refused efforts by health officials to find treatment, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Potter County, argues that the woman's infection and her sexual activities pose a threat to public health.
"This is a very last-ditch effort," said Dr. J. Rush Pierce, public health authority for the city health department. "We would not be doing this if we had been able to get this woman to behave responsibly with regard to sexual activity any other way."
Treatment
Texas law allows a judge or jury to force people into treatment if they are infected with diseases that threaten the health of others and have failed to follow orders from health authorities.
The woman was diagnosed with HIV in January 2000 and was counseled on ways to prevent spread of the disease. But in 2001 a case of HIV was traced back to her, and officials learned that T.T. had not disclosed her HIV status before having sexual contact with the infected person.
In early 2003, public health officials discovered she was still engaged in prostitution to support a cocaine habit, so the department issued a warning letter ordering her to enroll in treatment, according to documents in the lawsuit.
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