Alfonso v. Fernandez

As is by now well known, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) results from infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The virus, which damages an infected person’s immune system by destroying white blood cells, is transmitted chiefly through the exchange of blood and blood products, and through sexual relations. Although sexual abstinence and refraining from certain high risk behavior will prevent the transmission of the AIDS virus, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, the Acting Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health, has noted that "the reality is that adolescents are…