Nebraska State Sen. Pete Pirsch (R) on Wednesday introduced a bill (LB 625) that would make having sex with the intent of transmitting HIV a felony, the AP/KPTMNews.com reports. The bill also would make it illegal to donate or sell organs and bodily fluids, including blood and semen, or share a needle with the intention of spreading HIV/AIDS and other diseases. People who violate the law would be committing a Class 1B felony, which carries a minimum 20-year prison sentence and a maximum sentence of life in prison, the AP/KPTMNews.com reports (AP/KPTMNews.com, 1/21).

12 Nebraska Residents on ADAP Waiting List
In related news, about 12 Nebraska residents are on the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program waiting list, the University of Nebraska Medical Center said Thursday, the Omaha World-Herald reports. Susan Swindells, medical director of the center's HIV clinic, said the "federal support is vital because these drugs are expensive, and many of our patients do not have the means of paying for this medicine otherwise" (Ruggles, Omaha World-Herald, 1/22).