Atlanta Journal-Constitution Examines Mandatory Premarital HIV Tests
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Sunday examined state-mandated premarital blood testing for HIV. Illinois and Louisiana are the only two states that ever enacted premarital HIV tests, but they no longer require the test. Many HIV/AIDS groups oppose mandatory testing because they think it is an invasion of privacy. The majority of states dropped mandated premarital blood tests altogether because they are thought not to be cost-effective, Robert Shmerling, associate professor at Harvard Medical School, said. He added that premarital HIV tests also might not be effective and could be costly. According to a report released in November 2005 by CDC, from 2001 to 2004, nearly three in 10 new HIV cases reported were in women, and more than 75% of the 34,204 HIV-positive women acquired the virus from heterosexual relationships (Whitt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/8).
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