Iowa Supreme Court rules in AIDS case

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled against a Dubuque County man’s claim that the state law which makes it illegal to transmit AIDS is too vague. Justine Keene had a brief romance with a women identified in court records as C.J.H. The couple had consensual, unprotected sex, and Keene pleaded guilty to knowingly transmitting the virus to the women, although he said he never intended to expose her to the deadly disease. His sentence was suspended, but he appealed, saying the law is “unconstitutionally vague.” The high court disagreed, and said the law’s clear that if transmission was even possible, having unprotected sex was a crime, and Keene should have been aware of the risk.