Theories Of Biological Citizenship

Citizenship is often classified as a form of national identity. Being a citizen entails fulfilling one’s duties to the state and to the country in which they reside. Conversely, the state has certain responsibilities and obligations to their citizens. When the rights of a citizen intersect with people’s biological identities it is called biological citizenship. Essentially, biological citizenship is the demand for compensation, action or intervention from the state, on the basis of shared biological injury. This involves the identification of biological harm to individuals, as well as the collectivization of people with a common biological injury. Foucault’s theory of how power is relational means that citizens have the right to challenge the
In 1989 the government offered compensation to those who were infected by HIV only. The rationale behind neglecting to offer compensation to those affected with HCV was that the number of potential claimants would substantial. Political officials estimated around 60 000 people, whereas it was closer to 10 000. Another argument for limiting compensation was that HCV was less severe than HIV, and therefore taken less seriously. It was not until 2005 that all those who contracted HCV were compensated. The compensation decisions made by the government marginalized groups of individuals who were directly affected, as well as those who were not. Those infected with HCV were criticized for portraying themselves as an “innocent” victim implying that those who were infected elsewhere could be held responsible. Additionally, hemophiliacs infected with HIV were representing themselves as “victims of government neglect”. The way in which the “unfairly” infected individuals depicted themselves, created a divide between the responsible, neoliberal citizens who were victims to their circumstances, and the irresponsible, irrational citizens who engaged in immoral behaviors. Moreover, those infected were stigmatized as being tainted, regardless of the type of infection or the way in which they were infected. Eventually the stigma that went along with AIDS coincided with hemophilia, in the same way homosexuals were associated with the illness. In fact, because hemophilia was a gendered disease found in males, an association between hemophilia and homosexuality had developed as well. This stigma appeared as a result of peoples fear of the unknown. In 1987, the Canadian Hemophilia community faced a political turning point when they discovered almost half of Canada’s hemophiliacs were infected with HIV, which led to a focus in