H.I.V. test for pregnant women in New Jersey

New Jersey has become the first state to pass a law to screen the pregnant women in the state for the presence of HIV virus.

Till now, ultrasounds and other routine check-ups were a part of the procedure of prenatal care, but now with the introduction of this law, HIV screening will also become a part of it.

AIDS virus has been infecting humans at a very fast rate and this campaign is a very strong step forward in order to contain its spread. The law also requires the testing of the newborns if the test status of the mother is not known.

“New Jersey becomes the first state to require universal opt-out HIV testing for pregnant women, a move that has the potential to dramatically reduce the transmission of HIV from a pregnant mother to her newborn,'' said the acting Governor Richard J. Codey, who is also the Senate President.

The women can refuse to take the test if they are unwilling to undergo the testing and in that case the new born child will be tested, a provision which is similar to Connecticut, Illinois and New York where the newborns are compulsorily tested under law.

If the virus is detected during the pregnancy; it is possible to reduce the cases of transmission from the mother to the child to less than 2 percent from about 25 percent with help of preventive drugs, Cesarean delivery and avoidance of breast feeding.

According to the CDC report, the number of children reported to have caught the deadly virus during the birth declined to 48 in 2004 from a high figure of 945 in 1992. This is mainly because of all the preventive measures taken to avoid the transfer of virus from mother to child.

In New Jersey, about 115 thousand children take birth per year and according to state health department officials, seven infants born in 2005 were infected with HIV.
Although the law has a provision of a woman’s backing out from the testing process if she wishes to, some women welfare groups are still skeptical about this. The American Civil Liberties Union said the law deprives women of the authority to make medical decisions.

"Women's privacy rights and choices are as constitutionally valid as any other citizen, regardless of reproductive status," said Maretta J. Short, New Jersey's National Organization for Women president.

Apart from this, there is one more major concern regarding the effectiveness of the law in being practically feasible. The law only creates a provision of testing the women who receive the prenatal care and the ones who don’t will again be left out.

"We need to focus on getting people into care and keeping them in care," said Riki E. Jacobs, executive director of the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation in New Brunswick. "That is our most potent prevention weapon."