The Nation - News from July 7, 1988

Florida Gov. Bob Martinez signed into law a sweeping plan to stop the spread of AIDS, protect the civil rights of its victims and quarantine AIDS carriers who pose a threat to the public. “It’s the first comprehensive piece of legislation that deals with all the elements of AIDS--the illness itself, care for the patient, education, the non-compliant (carriers), research, the medicine,” Martinez said. “It’s all rolled into one effort. It’s a very broad law that I believe will set the standard for the nation.” The new law provides for the quarantine for up to 120 days of “non-compliant” carriers of AIDS who risk spreading the disease to others.