GLAD Celebrates Ten Years of Protections for People with HIV

A Toothache in Maine Led to Historic 1998 Supreme Court Victory

April 16, 2008 -- Ten years ago this June, the U.S. Supreme Court answered “yes” to the question: Are people with HIV protected from discrimination by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?  In so doing, they sent a message to health care providers, employers, schools, and landlords across the country: you cannot discriminate against people with HIV.

The case, Bragdon v. Abbott, originated in a dentist’s office in Bangor, Maine, when Sidney Abbott tried to get a cavity filled by Dr. Randon Bragdon. He refused because of her positive HIV status, and Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) – then with only two full-time staff attorneys– took on the case.

This month, GLAD will mark the 10th anniversary of Bragdon v. Abbott with

• Website features including archival news coverage, case documents, photographs, Dr. Bragdon’s writings on HIV and dentistry, and the “counsel card” Ben Klein received on the day he argued before the Supreme Court, at www.glad.org/30years.

• A podcast that looks back on the climate of fear and bias, and charts the road to Supreme Court victory.  The podcast features interviews with Sidney Abbott and GLAD attorney Ben Klein, who argued the case.

• A panel discussion on April 22, “The AIDS Epidemic and the Politics of Invisibility.” Panelists include Kevin Cathcart (ED, Lambda Legal), Reverend Irene Monroe, Jacob Smith Yang (ED, Massachusetts Asian and Pacific Islanders for Health), and Douglas Brooks (Vice President, Justice Resource Institute). Full details are available at www.glad.org/30years.

The 1990 federal Americans with Disabilities Act sought to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities—including HIV and AIDS—in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation. But despite this law and advancements in understanding about HIV and AIDS by the 1990s, prejudice and discrimination persisted.

Bragdon v. Abbott was the Supreme Court’s first case involving the ADA, and its first case touching on HIV.  It remains the foundational case in HIV and disability law.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD, now celebrating its 30th anniversary,  is New England’s leading legal organization dedicated to eliminating discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity & expression.