Americans with well-treated HIV can no longer be barred from enlisting in the United States military, a federal judge ruled Thursday, striking down the Pentagon’s last remaining policy limiting the service of those with the virus.
“Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads into the military are irrational, arbitrary, and capricious. Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
In her ruling, Brinkema mentioned her landmark 2022 decision that ended the Defense Department’s long-standing policy of forbidding service members who were diagnosed with HIV after enlisting from deploying in active duty outside the continental U.S. and being commissioned as officers.
“Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, and this Court has already ruled that asymptomatic HIV-positive service members with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment. Now, defendants must allow similarly situated civilians seeking accession into the United States military to demonstrate the same and permit their enlistment, appointment, and induction,” she wrote.
Research has shown that people with HIV who have an undetectable viral load thanks to antiretroviral treatment, as is the case for the vast majority of people on HIV treatment, cannot transmit the virus to others through sex. Advances in care and treatment of the virus have extended the lifespan of people with the virus to near normal. People with well-treated HIV are effectively healthy. However, they are still at higher risk of various health conditions related to aging, including heart disease and various cancers.
As for concerns about the complexity of treating HIV among members of the military, most people with HIV treat the virus with a single daily pill that contains multiple antiretroviral drugs. There is now an antiretroviral regimen, Cabenuva, that requires a single injection every one or two months. And further pharmaceutical advancements are expected to expand the required intervals between such injections.
The lawsuit, Wilkins v. Austin, was filed on behalf of three HIV-positive individuals who — due to the military policy of prohibiting people already diagnosed with HIV from enlisting or reenlisting — were barred from entry. The one named plaintiff, Isaiah Wilkins, 24, served for two years in the Georgia Army National Guard before voluntarily leaving to attend the United States Military Academy Preparatory School (USMAPS). As part of the entry process, Wilkins took a medical exam “that revealed for the first time that he was HIV positive,” according to court documents. He was ultimately “separated” from USMAPS due to his diagnosis. He now wishes to enlist in the Army and resume his education at USMAPS.
A friend-of-the-court brief filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by what the court characterized as “an impressive array of former high-ranking military officials” stressed that the U.S. depends on an all-volunteer military and argued that it should not exclude from enlistment able-bodied Americans, including those with chronic but well-managed health conditions, HIV among them.
“This is a victory not only for me but for other people living with HIV who want to serve,” Wilkins said in a statement shared by LGBTQ nonprofit Lambda Legal, one of the organizations representing him. “As I’ve said before, giving up on my dream to serve my country was never an option. I am eager to apply to enlist in the Army without the threat of a crippling discriminatory policy.”
Employment discrimination against people living with HIV has been prohibited since 1998 under a Supreme Court interpretation of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. However, the Department of Defense — the world’s largest employer, with nearly 3 million employees worldwide — has stood alone in continuing to limit employment opportunities for those living with HIV.
The Department of Defense did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s ruling.
For more from NBC Out, sign up for our weekly newsletter.
