Mandatory HIV Testing is Wrong

1389 Words3 Pages

TABLE OF CONTENTS

S No Topic Page No

1

Introduction

3

2

Mandatory HIV testing among Pregnant women

4

3

Pros of Mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women

5-6

4

Arguments against Mandatory testing for pregnant women

7

5

Arguments against Mandatory Premarital HIV Testing

8-9

6

Proponents of Mandatory Premarital HIV Testing

10

7

Conclusions

10-11

8

Recommendations

12

9.

References

12-13

Introduction

There are different kinds of HIV testing: voluntary testing, where the person tested makes the decision; mandatory testing, where you are tested whether or not you want to be tested; and routine testing, where, if you got some blood drawn for some other reason, an extra tube of blood would be drawn and sent off for an HIV test. Opt out is

when you choice not to opt in for example to be tested at health facilities

by doctors, opt out is when you decide to be tested on your own time.

Is mandatory testing a better strategy for preventing HIV/AIDS is the main question that is discussed in this document.

This paper discusses various arguments by the proponents and opponents of mandatory HIV testing in two scenarios.

1. Mandatory HIV testing for pregnant women &

2. Mandatory premarital HIV testing.

I personally support the mandatory testing for both the above two groups for some specific conditions though I don’t advocate mandatory testing as the best strategy to be implemented as a prevention strategy for HIV globally.

Arguments for and against mandatory testing for pregnant women can be broadly discussed under the following categories:

1. Legal Arguments: Examples of legal concerns surrounding the practice of mandatory testing include constitutional i...

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...fatal consequences, will result in the coercion of mothers by health care workers who believe, erroneously, that they know with certainty what is best for her baby8. HIV testing should be voluntary, and only performed after women are honestly informed of the likely consequences of a positive test.

1. Laurent Mandelbrot et al., Lamivudine-Zidovudine Combination for Prevention of Maternal-Infant Transmission of HIV-1, 285 JAMA, 2083, 2083-2093 (2001).

2. Wolf LE et al. When Parents Reject Interventions to Reduce Postnatal Human

Immunodeficiency Virus Transmission.Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2001;155: 927-33.

3. Udo Schuklenk, PhD, and Anita Kleinsmidt, LLB, LLM, Rethinking Mandatory HIV Testing During Pregnancy in Areas With High HIV Prevalence Rates: Ethical and Policy Issues, American Journal of Public Health , Vol 97, No. 7, 1179-83, July 2007

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