At the National Lesbian and Gay Health Conference in Denver, Colorado, the National Association of People with AIDS (NAPWA) was founded. In an unprecedented move for patient rights, the association adopted the Denver Principles articulating the rights of people with AIDS. These principles included the rights “to privacy, to confidentiality of medical records, to human respect”—language that paved the way for many of the legal rights all patients have today. These weren’t just medical rights. At a time when people with AIDS were stigmatized and marginalized, the Denver Principles affirmed their humanity. Years later, the Denver Principles would inspire South African activists to form their own NAPWA. This organization would become instrumental in the fight against AIDS in their own country.