The case of Dr. David Acer and his HIV-infected patients reads like a question of ethical and legal dilemmas as well as a murder mystery. According to the authorities, Dr. Acer infected, knowingly or unknowingly, five of his patients with the strain of the AIDS virus with which he himself was infected (Altman, 1993). Whether or not Dr. Acer was guilty of intentionally infecting his patients cannot be answered beyond a reasonable doubt, but the ethical questions this raises are worth discussing. The family of a deceased victim, Miss Kimberly Bergalis, lobbied for laws requiring that health care workers should be tested for AIDS and be required to notify patients of positive results (Altman, 1993 ). I believe this is an unfounded and unethical request. I personally believe that healthcare workers should have the same privacy rights as other patients. Requiring health workers to disclose their HIV status to patients would end their careers and livelihoods. Imagine if a health care provider contracted HIV while treating an infected patient. The time, money, and hard work spent on obtaining this career would be for nothing. If workers were to tell patients they were HIV positive, they would have to tell the employer and would never be hired. Would it be fair for providers to be able to refuse to treat patients based on their HIV status, in order to protect healthcare professionals? This would be considered unethical, and the proposed sanction raises this question. If a healthcare professional controls infections properly and follows the principle of non-maleficence, no problems should arise. This is an idealistic point of view. It is, however, supported by the journalistic investigations of Lawrence Altman of the New York Times. ...... middle of paper ...... higher demand for treatments and, in the long term, save thousands of lives; do as little harm as possible to help as many people as possible. It is highly likely that he is guilty and that foul play was involved, but there is no evidence to support this. Calling him guilty is comparable to the theory that the government injected homosexuals with the HIV virus. While he presents baseless theories, Dr. Acer's case may have been a creation of the government to further stigmatize the homosexual community. Either way, it remains an unsolved mystery. References Altman, LW (1993, June 6). AIDS and a dentist's secret. New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/06/weekinreview/aids-and-a-dentist-s-secrets.html Szekely, J. (1994, April 4). A case of sexual homicide? Tuscan citizen. Retrieved from http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/1994/04/04/105840-a-case-of-sexual-homicide/