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Unearthed: El-Sayed called for repealing law that made sex without disclosing HIV status a felony

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Steinhauser, P. (2026, September 25). Unearthed: El-Sayed called for repealing law that made sex without disclosing HIV status a felony. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/unearthed-el-sayed-called-repealing-law-made-sex-without-disclosing-hiv-status-felony

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-09-25 · by Paul Steinhauser

Quick Summary

Abdul El-Sayed, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate from Michigan, previously called for repealing a state law that made it a felony for individuals with HIV who engaged in sexual activities without disclosing their status to face up to four years in prison. This stance was articulated during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign and remains part of his platform as he now runs against Republican Mike Rogers to replace retiring Senator Gary Peters. El-Sayed argues that criminalizing the disease is discriminatory, aligning with former Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s support for revising such laws; in early 2019, Michigan did reform this statute to limit felony provisions and reduce certain offenses to misdemeanors.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Michigan, previously called for repealing a state law that made it a felony for HIV-positive individuals to engage in sexual intercourse without disclosing their status to partners. This position aligns with his 2018 gubernatorial campaign where he advocated for similar changes. El-Sayed maintains this stance despite the 2019 reforms that reduced certain offenses under the original law from felonies to misdemeanors and protected individuals who were medically suppressed from prosecution. His current Senate race against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers is seen as crucial for Democrats aiming to regain control of the Senate in the midterms. El-Sayed’s advocacy on this issue highlights ongoing debates about HIV criminalization laws across the U.S., with critics arguing such laws stigmatize and discourage testing, while others see them as necessary public health measures.

Written for “El-Sayed Calls to Repeal HIV Law” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 El-Sayed Calls to Repeal HIV Law
Politics · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
22
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 22 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6569 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Paul Steinhauser
42 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In the battle for the House, thanks to the stunning blue tsunami, Democrats cleared the 218-seat threshold needed to recapture the chamber. But with plenty of races still outstanding, the big question is just how large a majority will Democrats end up with when all the votes are counted.
🔮 Abdul El-Sayed, who became the veritable face of this midterm cycle acting as the GOP’s boogeyman for Democratic policies across the country, is projected to topple former Rep. Mike Rogers in what was one of the most-watched contests of the election.
🔮 Jackson's victory will end Collins’ nearly three-decade career in the Senate.
🔮 With his victory, Crowley will succeed retiring two-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and makes history as Wisconsin's first Black politician elected governor.
🔮 Later in the campaign he unveiled a plan which he said would also lower the cost of healthcare, housing, home and auto insurance, electricity, and even higher education.
🔮 I never in a million years thought I would be running for federal office, let alone a US Senate seat, but I have 20 years of experience working inside America's broken healthcare system, coming face to face with all of Washington's failures in my hospital exam rooms.
🔮 Rep. Byron Donalds just made history as the first Black politician to win a gubernatorial election in Florida as Fox News Decision Desk projected the congressman winning Tuesday's election. He is also the first Black Republican in the nation's history elected governor.
🔮 The race was projected as a victory for Cooper with 57.63 votes counted, with 66.40% going to the former Democratic governor and 31.96% going to Whatley.
🔮 The Fox News Decision Desk projects that Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will defeat former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu in a competitive and expensive swing state race.
🔮 Ossoff, once considered by the GOP to be the most vulnerable Democratic senator seeking re-election in the 2026 midterms, will now keep his job representing the southeastern battleground state in the U.S. Senate.
Also by Paul Steinhauser
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 42 articles by Paul Steinhauser →

Topics

Democratic Detroit Michigan Republican Senate

Subjects

El-Sayed PERSON · 8× Democratic NORP · 4× Senate ORG · 4× Abdul PERSON · 3× Michigan GPE · 3× Israel GPE · 2× Republican NORP · 2× Abdul El-Sayed PERSON · 1× Detroit GPE · 1× Wayne County GPE · 1×

Narrative

Last week, as he landed an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBTQ advocacy group, El-Sayed highlighted that if elected to the Senate, "I’ll fight to ensure every Michigander can live without discrimination and never have to wonder whether their rights will still be there tomorrow." El-Sayed, who narrowly edged more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in August in a contentious primary that further exposed the rift between the party's left-wing and establishment factions, would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 As he ran for the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nomination — a contest he lost to now-two-term Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — El-Sayed's campaign website stated, "Repeal HIV/AIDS criminalization laws and the exclusion of transgender Michiganders from state Medicaid." When asked in 2018 if he supported the decriminalization of HIV through legislation that would create two levels of misdemeanors, El-Sayed said at the time, "One of the big things that we have to recognize about HIV is that no disease can be illegal.

Claims (22 extracted, 0 hedged)

Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once called for repealing a Michigan law that made it a felony for people who knew they had HIV to have sex without first informing their partner — a position he is standing by eight years later as he campaigns in one of the nation's most competitive Senate races As he unsuccessfully ran for Michigan governor in 2018, El-Sayed repeatedly took aim at the law. asserted
Sayed → call → law
The law carried a prison sentence of up to four years for people who knew they were HIV-positive and engaged in sexual penetration without first informing their partner of their HIV status. asserted
they → carry → status
"You should not be criminalized for a disease. asserted
You → criminalize → disease
It’s hateful. asserted
It → ’ → ?
It’s discriminatory, and we can, as a state, do better. asserted
we → ’ → state
You can count on me for that," El-Sayed said as he ran for governor. asserted
he → count → governor
Fast-forward eight years and El-Sayed, an epidemiologist and a former health director for Detroit-anchored Wayne County, is battling former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers in the midterm race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Gary Peters. asserted
Sayed → anchor → Peters
The showdown in Michigan is a must hold for the Democrats as they try to win back control of the Senate from the GOP. asserted
they → try → GOP
As he ran for the 2018 Democratic gubernatorial nomination — a contest he lost to now-two-term Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — El-Sayed's campaign website stated, "Repeal HIV/AIDS criminalization laws and the exclusion of transgender Michiganders from state Medicaid." When asked in 2018 if he supported the decriminalization of HIV through legislation that would create two levels of misdemeanors, El-Sayed said at the time, "One of the big things that we have to recognize about HIV is that no disease can be illegal. asserted
disease → run → HIV
The continuing forward of these laws on the books stigmatize people with the disease." asserted
forward → continue → disease
Whitmer also supported changing the law, which dated to 1988, saying as she ran for governor, "It’s wrong to criminalize sickness, which is what this law has effectively done. asserted
law → support → what
It absolutely should be revisited." asserted
It → revisit → ?
The law was reformed in early 2019. asserted
law → reform → 2019
The revised statute limited the felony provisions to vaginal and anal intercourse involving an intent to transmit HIV or cases in which HIV was actually transmitted, reduced certain non-transmission offenses to misdemeanors and protected medically suppressed people from prosecution under the law's reckless-disregard provision. asserted
HIV → revise → provision
"Abdul supports the bipartisan reform bill that passed in 2019 through a Republican legislature that eliminated the discriminatory laws on the books," campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner told Fox News Digital. asserted
Richner → support → Digital
"As a public health professional, Abdul has fought to support programs that stem the spread of diseases, including HIV." asserted
that → fight → HIV
Richner added that "the Trump administration has completely exacerbated this crisis by defunding the organizations and programs that do frontline care to prevent transmission and exposure in the first place. asserted
that → add → place
In the US Senate, Abdul will fight back against Donald Trump and RFK Jr’s attempts to dismantle our public health infrastructure and ensure all Americans have access to the care they need. asserted
they → fight → care
El-Sayed also stands by his past comments on fighting discrimination aimed at those with HIV. asserted
Sayed → stand → HIV
Last week, as he landed an endorsement from the Human Rights Campaign, a leading LGBTQ advocacy group, El-Sayed highlighted that if elected to the Senate, "I’ll fight to ensure every Michigander can live without discrimination and never have to wonder whether their rights will still be there tomorrow." El-Sayed, who narrowly edged more moderate Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens in August in a contentious primary that further exposed the rift between the party's left-wing and establishment factions, would become the nation’s first Muslim senator if elected. asserted
that → land → factions
He has made support for "Medicare for all" a major component of his campaign. asserted
support → make → campaign
El-Sayed has also called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement and has been a vocal critic of Israel during its war against Hamas, characterizing Israel’s actions in Gaza as "genocide" against Palestinians. asserted
Sayed → call → Palestinians
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