Georgia State Rep. Says HIV “Quarantine” Comment Was Meant To Be “Provocative And Rhetorical”

Georgia state Rep. Betty Price

Georgia state Rep. Betty Price caused an uproar this week when, during a study committee hearing, she suggested that HIV+ people should be quarantined since they aren’t dying as “readily” as they used to.

The full quote:

“I don’t want to say the quarantine word, but I guess I just said it. Is there an ability, since I would guess that public dollars are expended heavily in prophylaxis and treatment of this condition? So we have a public interest in curtailing the spread. What would you advise or are there any methods legally that we could do that would curtail the spread?”

“It seems to me it’s almost frightening, the number of people who are living that are potentially carriers. Well they are carriers, with the potential to spread, whereas in the past they died more readily and then at that point they are not posing a risk. So we’ve got a huge population posing a risk if they are not in treatment.”