The Bay Area Reporter - May 19, 2000
Katie Szymanski

In California, current law requires prenatal counseling and an option for pregnant women to get an HIV test, but somehow the medical establishment just doesn't have the time. The solution? Test all new mothers without their consent and revoke the counseling option, then report the names of those who test positive. That's how AB2809, authored by Assemblyman Rod Pacheco (R-Riverside) would have played out had AIDS organizations not intervened.

Now, thanks to groups like the California HIV Advocacy Coalition and the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, what started out as a punitive HIV measure may have been transformed into a public health policy that will help pregnant women rather than treat them with suspicion.

"The bill started out so terrible," Eileen Hansen, public policy director of ALRP, told the Bay Area Reporter, "we had to hit hard."

AB2809, in its amended form, will offer - instead of require - an HIV test at labor, and will preserve prenatal counseling. It also calls for a written form to record the mother's consent. The new bill was passed by the Assembly Health Committee last Tuesday, May 9.

"We're very pleased that the negotiators agreed that pregnant women should have the same rights as everyone else when it comes to HIV testing," said Hansen.

But Hansen also expressed cautious optimism for the bill's amended version.

"I'm surprised the other side agreed to this compromise, because it is so close to current law," she said. "I would hope this bill remains as it is now, as opposed to the original approach, which had a much broader agenda."

Pacheco's office denied that the original bill was harmful, insisting that it was meant to protect mothers.

"There was a lot of confusion in the medical community about current law, and 20 to 40 percent of mothers were not being offered the HIV test," said a spokeswoman for Pacheco. "This is a way to standardize the procedure, so that all women will receive the same care instead of some women feeling stigmatized or singled out for the test."

But how would removing the prenatal counseling option help women?

"We had no intention of doing away with counseling," said Pacheco's spokeswoman. "We were just starting out with something."

What they were starting out with was a bill that specifically stated, "Existing law requires prenatal care providers, as defined, to offer an HIV test, information, counseling, and referral services that include providing certain information to every pregnant woman patient during prenatal care. This bill would delete this provision."

Add that statement to a standard HIV test and it seems clear that there would have been testing without consent and counseling, but Pacheco refuted that possibility.

"The original language didn't have everything we wanted to put into it. We had always intended to amend that, to include counseling," Pacheco told the B.A.R. "I think the compromise is a good resolution. When we are able to protect the woman and save her child then we have accomplished our goal."

Now that the bill has been cleaned up, Hansen said that ALRP and CHAC have removed their opposition. The groups did not, however, come out in favor of the legislation. Both organizations will continue to monitor the bill as it moves through the state Senate.
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