US Appeals Court Upholds Military Ban on Enlistment by People with HIV

A US appeals court on Wednesday upheld the US military’s longstanding policy prohibiting people with HIV from enlisting, dismissing claims that advances in medical treatment have rendered the ban unreasonable.

 

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Richmond, Virginia-based 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said allowing HIV-positive individuals to join the armed forces could complicate the military’s mission and impose additional burdens and costs. The court reversed a 2024 ruling by a Virginia judge that struck down the enlistment ban, which had already been paused in December after hearing arguments in the case.

 

The policy, first formalised in 1991, was challenged by three people with HIV who say they are asymptomatic and have undetectable viral loads thanks to medical treatment. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to 95 per cent of people with HIV who receive treatment are undetectable, meaning they cannot transmit the virus to their sexual partners.

 

However, the 4th Circuit said treatment could cost the military up to $20,000 per person each year, and that having HIV-positive servicemembers on the front lines could raise logistical and diplomatic challenges.

 

“All of the considerations advanced by the Military are reasonable military judgements related to the Military’s legitimate mission, and because they are rationally related to its legitimate military mission, its policies are valid,” Circuit Judge Paul Niemeyer wrote for the court.

 

Niemeyer, an appointee of Republican former President George H.W. Bush, was joined by Circuit Judges Allison Rushing and Julius Richardson, both appointed by Republican former President Donald Trump.

 

Lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that people with undetectable viral loads can be deployed anywhere and perform all duties without restrictions, posing no risk of transmission to others.

 

“This ruling ignores decades of medical advancement and the proven ability of people living with HIV to serve with distinction,” said Gregory Nevins of LGBTQ rights group Lambda Legal.

 

The US Department of Defense did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

 

The 2022 lawsuit contends that the enlistment ban, adopted by each branch of the military through regulations, violates the due-process rights of prospective servicemembers with HIV.

 

US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, had agreed in 2024, stating that the ban undermined the military’s own recruitment goals and contributed to the persistent stigma surrounding HIV-positive people.

 

But on Wednesday, the 4th Circuit panel said courts must give considerable deference to military actions, and the government had justified the ban on multiple grounds.

 

A separate 4th Circuit panel in 2020 blocked a policy allowing the Pentagon to limit deployments or discharge current servicemembers with HIV. The court said that case differed because it involved the rights of active military members rather than civilians seeking to enlist, and the government had provided little justification for that policy.

 

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