This chapter focuses on some of the key legal elements relating to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and AIDS. The AIDS Drug Assistance Program is one of the key government-funded programs that provide AIDS-related drugs to those who could otherwise not afford them. A recent study found that HIV therapies reduce infectivity by 60%. Access to HIV therapies reduces the viral load (or the amount of HIV present in a person's bloodstream)–a key factor in curbing infectivity and in reducing the ability to transmit HIV. There is now evidence that AIDS, if untreated, affects the cognitive functioning of patients, sometimes quite early in the disease process. AIDS patients should be educated about the common neurological complications of HIV infection, including peripheral neuropathy as well as neurocognitive disorder. The American Medical Association has stated that physicians have an ethical obligation to provide care for patients with HIV infection and AIDS. AIDS has affected all aspects of family life. Injection drug use is responsible for over 30% of the transmission of HIV/AIDS in certain parts of this country, like New York City. It emphasized the need to protect human rights and human dignity in the context of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Efforts to prevent the spread of HIV have helped decrease the transmission in developed countries. It is learned from experience that coercion in the form of threats, penalty, and discrimination is not an effective tool to prevent the spread of an epidemic such as AIDS.