Image credit: RitaE from Pixabay 

One of the more heartwarming stories to come out this week was that of gay couple Damian Pighin and Ariel Vijarra of Sante Fe, Argentina adopting a baby born with HIV.

As told by British news and entertainment site Unilad, the story began in 2011. Pighin and Vijarra had decided to expand their family after becoming the first gay couple to get married in Santa Fe. Their search for a child would only end in 2014 when they received a call about a newborn baby ready to be adopted.

The baby girl ready for adoption had already been rejected by 10 families because she was infected with HIV. The couple, however, immediately took her in, telling local media that the connection “immediate.”

It’s been five years since and so much has changed for the HIV-infected baby girl. Now named Olivia, she responded well to her HIV treatment and in 2017, the couple was told that HIV was no longer detectable in Olivia. Olivia now also has a sister named Victoria. Both are set to celebrate their birthdays this February.

Adopting a baby is a big responsibility, even more so if it’s a child like Olivia. There are many parents — gay and straight — who are more than willing to take on that responsibility, especially now that adoption by same-sex couples is legal in all 50 states.

Living with HIV in this day and age is also no longer a death sentence like it was in the 80s. PrEP has made it possible to live with HIV, and 2020 will see a cheaper generic version of the treatment enter the market.

But what we’d like to ask Adam4Adam blog readers is if they’d be willing to make the same decision that Pighin and Vijarra made. Would you welcome a child infected with HIV into your family? Why or why not? Tell us what you’d do in the comments section below.

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