ABSTRACT
Ever since effective HIV treatment was first developed in the mid-1990s, the question of who should have access to these life-extending drugs has been a topic of debate among physicians, policy makers, researchers, patients, and activists. Enthusiasm over the drugs’ ability to seemingly rescue AIDS patients from the brink of death (dubbed the “Lazarus effect” by the press) was quickly tempered by anxieties over the long-term implications of antiretroviral treatment for both individuals and the greater public health. The diagnosis of drug-resistant HIV-when viral strains mutate and render the drugs no longer effective-emerged as a salient concern.
