Judge rules military can’t turn away HIV-positive enlistees

A federal judge ruled this week that the U.S. military cannot bar enlistees who have undetectable viral loads of HIV, eliminating the last major barrier in the armed forces for asymptomatic individuals who have the virus.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, in the Eastern District of Virginia, said in the ruling Tuesday that none of the arguments the Pentagon made in attempting to prevent the recruitment of HIV-positive individuals were “supported by the evidence.”

“Defendants’ policies prohibiting the accession of asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads are irrational, arbitrary and capricious,” the judge wrote. “Even worse, they contribute to the ongoing stigma surrounding HIV-positive individuals while actively hampering the military’s own recruitment goals.”

The news comes after two previous rulings in the past few years overturned the military’s policy barring HIV-positive individuals from serving or from being promoted to a commissioned rank.

The case that was decided this week against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was filed by the Minority Veterans of America advocacy organization and three Americans or lawful permanent residents seeking to join the Army.

The plaintiffs include Isaiah Wilkins, 24, who sought to join the Army after serving in the Georgia National Guard but was denied because he was HIV-positive.

Carol Coe, 33, served in the Army in 2008 and left the service after becoming HIV-positive but seeks to return to duty.

And Natalie Noe, 33, was denied entry into service in 2020 because she tested positive for the virus.

The plaintiffs argued that the military’s prevention of HIV-positive individuals from serving is unlawful because it is not reconcilable with current scientific evidence on the virus, challenging the policy on the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act. They also said the military restriction targets a specific group.

In arguments before the court, the Pentagon said it was rational for the military to bar certain individuals from serving who may present a known risk to the health of the armed forces.

The Pentagon cited the incurability of the disease; the potential for HIV-positive individuals to not take their daily medications and therefore increase their viral loads; the ability of the virus to spread through blood spatter or transfusions; and the risk of service members struggling with comorbidities.

The Pentagon also argued that HIV-positive individuals require more financial support and that they would struggle to deploy those service members to other countries that have greater restrictions.

Brinkema rejected each of those arguments in the ruling. “Modern science has transformed the treatment of HIV, and this court has already ruled that asymptomatic HIV-positive individuals with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties.”