Fourth Circuit reinstates Pentagon's HIV enlistment ban

The Fourth Circuit reversed a landmark 2024 ruling that had forced the Pentagon to stop barring HIV-positive people from enlisting. The district court had found the ban violated both the Fifth Amendment equal protection guarantee and the Administrative Procedure Act, calling the policy irrational and arbitrary.

Judge PNPaul Niemeyer wrote the opinion for the three-judge panel

Niemeyer was appointed by President George H.W

Bush in 1990 He was joined by JRJulius Richardson and AJAllison Jones Rushing, both appointed by President Trump during his first term All three judges are considered part of the Fourth Circuit conservative wing.

The court applied rational basis review, the weakest form of constitutional scrutiny

Under this standard, a law only needs to be rationally related to any conceivable legitimate government interest

Courts almost never strike down laws under rational basis review because the bar is so low The Fourth Circuit then layered military deference doctrine on top, giving the Pentagon even more latitude than rational basis alone would provide.

The CDC confirmed in 2017 that people living with HIV who maintain an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus sexually. This principle, known as U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable), is backed by multiple large-scale clinical studies and endorsed by over 1,000 organizations in 105 countries. The Fourth Circuit acknowledged this science but ruled the military could still exclude HIV-positive people based on logistical concerns about medication access in combat zones.

The named plaintiff IWIsaiah Wilkins was separated from the Army Reserves and disenrolled from the U.S

Military Academy Preparatory School after testing HIV-positive

Two other plaintiffs, proceeding under pseudonyms Carol Coe and Natalie Noe, were also denied military service based solely on their HIV status The organizational plaintiff Minority Veterans of America represents veterans living with HIV who want to serve or return to service.

In June 2022, then-Defense Secretary LALloyd Austin issued a memorandum stating that HIV-positive service members who are asymptomatic with undetectable viral loads should face no deployment restrictions

Lambda Legal had won earlier victories in Harrison v

Austin and Roe v Austin that ordered the Pentagon to stop discriminating against service members already serving But the enlistment ban for new recruits remained, which is what Wilkins v Hegseth challenged.

The military stated rationale includes concerns about medication access in austere environments, the inability of HIV-positive service members to donate blood in emergency battlefield collections, and the cost of ongoing treatment. Critics note that the military already accommodates hundreds of other chronic conditions requiring daily medication, including diabetes, asthma, and thyroid disorders, without categorical bans on enlistment.

Lambda Legal senior counsel GNGregory Nevins said the court chose to uphold discrimination over medical reality. The plaintiffs can now seek en banc rehearing before the full Fourth Circuit, which would involve all active judges rather than a three-judge panel, or petition the U.S. Supreme Court to take the case.