Since the ’80s, the American public has been in the midst of one uproar or another concerning HIV and AIDS. From the earliest days of this disease, homosexuals have been ostracized for no greater crime than being the most visible and prominent victims of the epidemic.

The backlash against gays was fierce, and a great debate raged over the moral implications of AIDS. Many groups took the opportunity to spread their message of hate and fear over the airwaves, and for a long time, it looked like a witch hunt would be inevitable. But slowly lawmakers were able to enact legislation to help stem the flow of hatred and to help ensure that those afflicted would be protected from discrimination in a society all too ready to find a scapegoat.

Recently, however, we have been witness to shocking crimes in which people have used HIV and AIDS as a weapon. Nushawn Williams infected at least 6 teenage girls after he definitely knew he was infected with HIV. Darnell McGee spread the disease in East St. Louis without regard for the health of the women he slept with.

And perhaps most alarmingly — Brian Stewart, who allegedly injected his own baby son with a syringe of HIV-tainted blood while visiting the boy in the hospital as his mother waited outside of the room.

Now 30 states including Iowa have made it a crime to intentionally spread AIDS. In Iowa, anyone found guilty could be punished with as many as 25 years in prison.

It is always necessary to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Anyone who injects his infant with AIDS or passes the disease on while engaging in statutory rape should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

But this new law comes dangerously close to turning into another AIDS witch hunt. It is one thing to convict someone for intentionally inflicting a helpless child with AIDS. But it is another matter entirely to find someone guilty for passing the disease on to an otherwise responsible adult who should have protected themselves.

It is a slippery slope.

From there it is a short step to finding someone guilty of passing on the disease through depraved indifference because they should have informed their partner or even because they should have had themselves tested to be sure they didn’t have HIV or AIDS.

We have lived in a society with AIDS for over a decade and personal responsibility for protection has been advocated for this epidemic since the mid-’80s.

We have known for years that it is possible to become infected after a single episode of unprotected heterosexual intercourse.

Ultimately, everyone is responsible for his or her own protection.