"Women, Infants, Etc.": Gender and Vulnerability in U.S. HIV Legislation and Policy Pubblico

Abstract

Abstract
"Women, Infants, Etc.": Gender and Vulnerability in U.S. HIV Legislation and Policy
The purpose of this thesis is twofold. My first goal is to unite the conversations of feminist
theory on HIV disease, feminist legal theory, and feminist legal vulnerability theory in order to establish
an interdisciplinary and intersectional framework of analysis that can be used to navigate the
complicated scholarship about HIV disease. In addition, I note the progression of feminist legal theory
on HIV disease as well as a new concept of feminist legal theory developed by Martha Fineman known as
vulnerability theory. The second goal of this project is to use this framework to explore and critique
the ways gender is deployed in the domestic laws about HIV. The specific laws I wil explore are the Ryan
White CARE Act of 1990, The Ryan White Treatment Extension Act of 2009, and the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act of 2010. Each of these laws speaks to gender in a specific, traditional, normative
way that has devastating consequences for both women and men with HIV. Through the use of the
interdisciplinary and intersectional feminist framework built in this paper, these laws can be both
analyzed and reformulated in order to better and more efficiently address the needs of women with HIV
disease.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
I. GENDER, HIV, AND FEMINISM . . . 1

II. FEMINIST SCHOLARSHIP ON HIV/AIDS . . . 5

A. Feminist Theory: Gendering HIV
B. Feminist Legal Theory and HIV: Fighting for Women's Rights
C. Vulnerability Theory: A New Feminist Legal Framework for HIV Law
D. Conclusion

III. "INFANTS AND WOMEN, ETC": THE INVISIBLE 'OTHERS' OF THE
RYAN WHITE COMPREHENSIVE AIDS RESOURCES EMERGENCY
(CARE) ACT . . . 32

A. Introduction to the Ryan White CARE Act
B. "Infants and Women, Etc.": Funding Support Services and Research for
the 'Others'
C. Criminalizing Pregnant Bodies
D. HIV and Drug Users: The Intersectional Implications of Invisibility
E. "Acting Against AIDS" in the Ryan White Treatment Extension Act of
2009: Individual Responsibility and the Vulnerable Subject
F. Conclusion

IV. THE PATIENT PROTECTION AND AFFORDABLE CARE ACT . . . 51

A. Introduction to the Affordable Care Act: Ignoring HIV
B. The Affordable Care Act's Gendered Construction of Vulnerability:
Consequences for Women with HIV Disease
C. Personal Responsibility Education: Helping 'Vulnerable' Women with HIV to
Avoid Pregnancy
D. Conclusion

V. A VISION FOR THE FUTURE OF HIV LEGISLATION . . . 64
A. A Summary of the Interdisciplinary Approach
B. The Responsive State: Improving the Health of Women with HIV
C. Feminist Objections to Fineman's Argument
D. Conclusion

Works Cited . . . 73

Works Consulted . . . 77

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Women's Studies
Degree	BA
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Women's Studies
Parola chiave	gender vulnerability theory Feminism healthcare law HIV/AIDS
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Sparks, Holloway, Emory University
Committee Members	Roy, Deboleena, Emory University Allen, Susan A, Emory University

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