Mandatory AIDS test hits legal snag

A proposed bill requiring pregnant women in the Northern Marianas to undergo a mandatory AIDS test drew opposition yesterday over potential legal problem to the island government.

In a hearing conducted by the House committee on Health, Education and Welfare, House Bill 11-327 may pose constitutional challenge because the provision mandating the test will infringe on individual rights, according to local officials.

But committee chair Rep. Heinz Hofschneider said they would consider the recommendation before the House acts on the measure which aims to prevent the rise in cases of newborn babies infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

“From their opinions… that so long as you give the option to the individual to refuse the test, that is workable,” he told in an interview after the hearing. “The committee will take that heavily into consideration.”

The hearing was attended by officials from the Department of Public Health and the Attorney General’s Office who expressed reservation over some provision of the bill, although supportive of its intent.

Health Sec. Kevin Villagomez maintained the legislation should focus on educating pregnant women on the risk of transmitting to their babies inside the womb HIV or the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

“We have to be extremely cautious on the mandatory testing,” he explained in an interview. “We should still give the woman the option to undergo the test or not.”

Acting AG Maya B. Kara echoed his concern, saying that it should be part of routine tests given during prenatal care where a battery of blood testing is undertaken, but on voluntary basis.

While supporting HIV tests, the chief government lawyer underscored the need to consider the constitutional aspect of subjecting an individual to a requirement that may violate his or her right to privacy.

“(The mandatory test) is intimidating,” Kara said in a separate interview. “No matter what the intention is and what the costs are, you cannot justify that kind of government intrusion into somebody’s bodily integrity without consent.”

Under the proposal, the current Maternal and Child Health program of the DPH will be expanded to include information on HIV transmission, counseling and testing in an effort to help mothers prevent spread of HIV to their babies following discovery of one such incident last November, the first ever recorded on the island.

The AIDS test, however, is included in the initial bill under the routine check-up and laboratory screening provided in the existing program. “If a pregnant woman presents herself in labor and upon evaluation, was determined that she did not receive prenatal care, then HIV testing will be done at the time of delivery,” the bill said.

In a report last November, public health officials identified an infant found to be carrying HIV after his parents were tested positive of the virus that leads to AIDS or Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

The case of the virus transmission from a mother to her newborn infant is the first ever reported in the Northern Marianas, according to public health officials. At least 10 other new HIV cases have been found in the past few months, mostly nonresident workers, one of the highest in the region.

Dr. Jon Bruss, director for public health, told the hearing that two other cases of mothers infected with HIV were recently discovered, including a teenager. It was not known whether their babies are also positive of the virus.