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Dec 26, 2007 8:00 pm US/Eastern
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N.J. Mandates HIV Tests As Part Of Prenatal Care
Most Infected Women Favor New Law; While Groups Cry Foul
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEWARK (CBS) ―
First it was stem cell research, now it's mandatory HIV testing for all expecting mothers. New Jersey's acting governor has signed a measure he says will "significantly reduce" the number of HIV infections in infants.
Previously, the state law had providers only offer HIV testing to pregnant women. Now, HIV testing will be part of routine prenatal care for all pregnant women. Doctors will also provide pregnant women with information about HIV and AIDS.
Tangy Major, a Hackensack resident, has been HIV positive since 1989. She lives a life of love and heartache. She lost her first child to the disease, which is why she supports the new law, having already endured two rounds of artificial insemination and regular pre-natal HIV testing to avoid transmitting the virus to her second child, Kayla.
"I was still very fearful of it. It's just something that would be on their mind for sure," said Major.
Gov. Richard J. Codey signed the measure into law at University Hospital in Newark. Once signed, the law takes effect in six months.
"New Jersey becomes the first state to require a universal HIV testing for pregnant women. Meaning they would automatically be tested unless they chose not to."
At Newark's University Hospital, new mothers like Ayesha Chase made the choice months ago.
"Of course it enters your mind whether or not you have it. You're going to be nervous."
Doctors hope the test will identify a new demographic of expecting mothers who have no reason to believe they're HIV positive.
"We actually test for syphilis, gonorrhea, we test for anything else. And we tell them they're positive, they're negative, this is the treatment. For HIV we make an exception, so it's time to change and then to actually incorporate it into our care," said Director of HIV Testing Dr. Arlene Bardequez.
Not everyone agrees however. Critics say mandatory pre-natal HIV testing deprives women of their right 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 of Women president.
But for someone living with the burden of an incurable disease, this new law provides some reassurance that his or her desperate struggles against an indomitable foe is not necessarily a lost cause.
"It's still better to know that you have HIV than not to know. No other result can happen but death. Knowing - you can live," said Major. For Tangy, an HIV survivor, pre-natal testing was the easiest decision she's ever had to make.
Under the new law, if an expecting mother chooses to opt out of the HIV screening, doctors must then test the newborn.
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(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)