Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Real Fears, False Hopes: The Human Costs of AIDS Antibody Testing
AIDS & Public Policy Journal 2, no. 4 (Fall-Winter 1987): 25-30. Walter F. Bachelor
There is an easy answer to stopping transmission of the AIDS virus. Like all easy answers, this one is simple, neat, and wrong. The proposal is to give the AIDS antibody test to everyone who is even slightly at risk of exposure to the virus, and to then let each individual's good sense guide him or her into altering the necessary behaviors. This is the easy answer that has been proposed by the nation's political and public health officials, one that is frequently before Congress and the state legislatures. Why is this easy answer to wrong? First, because of the widespread misconceptions and misunderstanding about AIDS, few people truly understand how, and most important for what medical reasons, they need to modify certain of their behaviors. Second, the information that one is carrying the AIDS virus is almost too horrible to comprehend. Are wee prepared factually to list the adverse consequences of AIDS antibody testing in our public policy documents? Will public health officials require that individuals be told that if they test positive they will likely never get health insurance again, never get life insurance, and consequently never be eligible for a mortgage, that they may be refused treatment in emergency rooms; that they will have extreme difficulty getting dental care; that they may not be able to get hospital care except in major cities; and that they will probably be consumed with thoughts of death for the rest of their lives? These are the realities of AIDS-antibody testing.
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Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
