Canada's top court: Some may withhold HIV diagnosis

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By NBC News staff and wire servicesCanada's top court said on Friday that failing to tell a intercourseual partner you have HIV is only intercourseual assault if there is "a realistic possibility" of transmitting the virus that causes AIDS.

Follow @NBCNewsWorld In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the government's argument that everyone who has HIV should be required to disclose that condition to all intercourseual partners in any circumstance.

Several groups involved in the case, including the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the Canadian AIDS Society, took issue with the court's standard of a "realistic possibility," saying it is too severe, and calling the decision "a major step backwards for public health and human rights."

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