Newly legal at-home HIV test kits to be distributed
A new law taking effect on Thursday nullifies two HIV-related felonies in state law, and advocacy groups will celebrate by handing out HIV self-test kits.
What You Need To Know
House Bill 349 takes effect on Thursday, which decriminalizes HIV self-test kits
Advocates will distribute free kits Thursday in Louisville and Lexington
HB 349 also removes felony penalties for people who donate organs, skin or other human tissue while being HIV positive
Kentucky’s “HIV Is Not a Crime Coalition” announced it will hold events in Louisville and Lexington on Thursday, June 29, to distribute free HIV home-test kits legally for the first time ever in Kentucky.
In Louisville, the kits will be available starting at 11 a.m. outside the headquarters of VOCAL-KY at 4th Street and Broadway. In Lexington, kits will be distributed starting at 1 p.m. at the AVOL office at 1824 Hill Rise Dr. Suite 100.
House Bill 349, which earned bipartisan passage during the 2023 legislative session, takes effect on Thursday. Among other things, the measure addresses two HIV-related issues: it removes felony penalties for people who donate organs, skin or other human tissue while being HIV positive, and it decriminalizes the possession or use of HIV self-tests.
Gov. Andy Beshear (D) signed HB 349 into law on March 31, and it has been hailed as one of the most sweeping HIV modernization laws in the nation, according to the Kentucky Fairness Campaign.
