carrying a deadly weapon dr jeffery meier advocates said theyve heard from people who do not want to get tested because they fear getting arrested tami haught an advocate from the community hiv and hepatitis advocates of the iowa network said there is still stigma attached to the disease take the test risk arrest said haught of some attitudes toward testing in states with hivspecific laws we now know the earlier someone is tested and gets treatment the longer moreproductive life that person can live if we could get rid of the stigma associated with hiv we could get a lot further a lot of faster according to randy mayer the bureau chief for the hiv std and hepatitis at the iowa department of public health people with hiv in iowa are often diagnosed after they have started to exhibit symptoms a sign that the disease has had time to progress mayer said approximately 40 percent of people in iowa diagnosed with hiv develop aids within one year and that approximately 2200 people in the state have been diagnosed hiv positive if the law is changed advocates have said it will help ease the stigma of hiv and encourage people to get treatment earlier which can help to stop the spread of the virus we have better science and much better treatment were hoping with this bill that hiv is no longer this separate other than contagious disease thats going to be treated differently than other major contagious diseases said donna red wing the executive director for the lgbt advocacy group one iowa