HIV Names Reporting
Civil Asset Forfeiture



1. HIV Names Reporting: The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
yesterday released draft guidelines for the surveillance of HIV cases
that would violate our most basic privacy rights.  In these
guidelines, the CDC recommends that states institute case reporting of
people who test positive for HIV by name rather than using a system of
unique identifiers.

The proposed CDC guidelines are bad for public health and threaten to
destroy our most basic privacy rights. Study after study confirms that
mandatory names reporting discourages people from getting tested for
HIV. A recent article in the prestigious Journal of the American
Medical Association makes clear that anonymous testing is the most
effective means of insuring HIV positive people receive the
life-saving treatment they need.

Although the CDC recommends that states maintain the availability of
anonymous testing, it well knows that the guidelines are likely to
have the opposite effect. Nationally, ten states have eliminated
anonymous testing after starting names reporting.

The CDC is accepting public comment on these guidelines through
January 11, 1999.  Take action today! Send a FREE FAX to the CDC
stating that HIV names reporting violates privacy and ignores
scientific evidence from the ACLU web site at:


http://www.aclu.org/congress/congress.html


2. Civil Asset Forfeiture: Imagine that the police had the right to
seize your property -- your home, your car, your business, your cash
--  and you hadn't even been arrested, charged or convicted of a
crime. Believe it or not, under the law of civil asset forfeiture,
such conduct by the police is perfectly legal.

Currently asset forfeiture is used by federal law enforcement
officials as a dream way to fill their coffers by seizing assets
allegedly used in a crime. But asset forfeiture has become a nightmare
for many Americans who have been accused of a crime but have not been
proven guilty. In many cases, even when the accused citizens are found
innocent, they face an expensive struggle with government bureaucrats
to recover their property. Many times they are unsuccessful in ever
recovering their property!

In anticipation of action on this critical issue in the upcoming
Congress, the ACLU has purchased an ad in the New York Times to raise
public awareness and mobilize grassroots action.  You can see a copy
of the ad and send a FREE FAX to your members of Congress by visiting
the ACLU web site at:


http://www.aclu.org/features/nytimesad121198.html

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