Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed’s 2018 advocacy for the repeal of state laws criminalizing HIV non-disclosure has become a focal point in his current campaign. During his unsuccessful run for governor, El-Sayed characterized the existing statutes as “hateful” and “discriminatory,” arguing that individuals should not face criminal penalties for a disease.
The controversy centers on Michigan’s pre-2019 legal framework, which dated to 1988 and allowed felony charges for people who knew they were HIV-positive and had sex without disclosing their status. These charges carried potential prison sentences of up to four years. El-Sayed’s campaign has since clarified its position, stating that the nominee supports the bipartisan reforms enacted in 2019 that narrowed the scope of criminal penalties.
What the Left Is Saying
El-Sayed’s campaign argues that his 2018 stance was rooted in public health principles rather than legal permissiveness. Campaign spokesperson Roxie Richner stated that El-Sayed supports the bipartisan reform bill that passed through a Republican-led legislature in 2019, which eliminated what the campaign describes as “discriminatory laws on the books.”
Richner emphasized El-Sayed’s background as a public health professional, noting his commitment to programs that stem the spread of diseases, including HIV. The campaign also directed criticism at the federal government, stating 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 his 2018 remarks, El-Sayed argued that “no disease can be illegal” and that maintaining criminalization statutes served only to stigmatize people living with HIV. His campaign platform at the time explicitly called for the repeal of HIV/AIDS criminalization laws alongside the exclusion of transgender Michiganders from state Medicaid.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative media outlets and critics have highlighted El-Sayed’s 2018 comments as evidence of a disconnect with mainstream public safety concerns. The Daily Wire and other right-leaning publications have framed his call for repeal as an attempt to remove accountability for HIV transmission, focusing on his description of the law as “hateful.”
Critics have also scrutinized El-Sayed’s broader record, including a 2012 letter he signed supporting then-Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, which called for the president to “purge the media and the police.” This resurfaced statement, reported by the Washington Free Beacon, is being used to question El-Sayed’s views on institutional authority and civil liberties.
Further scrutiny has focused on El-Sayed’s association with political commentator Hasan Piker. Piker, who campaigned alongside El-Sayed in April, has made statements criticizing American history and institutions, including claiming in 2019 that the United States “deserved 9/11.” El-Sayed’s refusal to disavow Piker has been cited by opponents as a sign of his alignment with progressive activist circles.
What the Numbers Show
Michigan’s original HIV criminalization law, enacted in 1988, imposed felony charges for non-disclosure during sexual activity, carrying a maximum penalty of four years in prison. In December 2018, then-Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican, signed a package of reforms that significantly altered this landscape.
The 2019 reforms narrowed the definition of criminal conduct to vaginal or anal sex involving intent to transmit HIV or actual transmission. The new legislation reduced certain offenses to misdemeanors and included specific protections for individuals with medically suppressed viral loads, shielding them from prosecution under the law’s “reckless disregard” provisions.
El-Sayed’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign platform listed the repeal of HIV/AIDS criminalization laws as a specific policy goal. The 2012 letter supporting Morsi was signed by a coalition of activists and called for changes to media and police structures in Egypt shortly before the government initiated a crackdown on journalists.
The Bottom Line
The resurfacing of El-Sayed’s 2018 position illustrates how past policy statements can be reframed in the context of a high-profile Senate race. While the 2019 reforms addressed many of the specific grievances El-Sayed raised by decriminalizing non-disclosure in cases of suppressed viral loads, the political debate has shifted from the legal technicalities to broader questions about public health approaches and cultural alignment.
El-Sayed’s campaign maintains that his support for the reformed law demonstrates a commitment to evidence-based public health, while his critics use the 2018 quotes and his associations with figures like Piker and the Morsi letter to argue that his worldview is out of step with traditional values. Voters will likely weigh these historical positions against his current campaign promises and his stated opposition to federal public health funding cuts.