California
governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law
Tuesday that allows women to safely conceive children
with their HIV-positive partners. The legislation,
sponsored by state senator Carole Migden, approves
an assisted reproduction technique that cleanses
sperm of HIV, which was previously outlawed by the
state.
"All families
deserve access to the tools that reproductive science
has to offer," Migden said in a statement. "In this case
California law needs to catch up with technology because,
whether inadvertent or not, it discriminates against
HIV-positive men. My legislation will ensure equal
reproductive rights for all women, regardless of their
partners' HIV status."
According to the
statement, out of 700 successful conceptions through the
procedure in other places, not one child was born with the
virus.
Delaware was the
only other state to ban the process. (The Advocate)