A doctor involved in the preparation of a healthcare regulation bill in the Indonesian province of Papua cited dangerous behavior among some infected with the HIV as the reason lawmakers are considering the use of microchip implants in tracking some HIV carriers.
Said Dr. John Manangsang: “We in the government in Papua have to think hard on ways to provide protection to people from the spread of the disease. Some of the infected people experience a change of behaviour and can turn more aggressive and would not think twice of infecting others. Among one of the means being considered is the monitoring of those infected people who can pose a danger to others. The use of chip implants is one of the ways to do so, but only for those few who turn aggressive and clearly continue to disregard what they know about the disease and spread the virus to others.”
Constant Karma, the head of the Papua chapter of the National AIDS Commission, slammed the announcement: “People with HIV/AIDS are not like sharks under observation so that they have to be implanted with microchips to monitor their movements. Any form of identification of people with HIV/AIDS violates human rights.”
Microchips mulled for HIV carriers in Indonesia’s Papua [afp]
