The New York State AIDS Advisory Council Threatens Valued Legal Protections

(New York, October 12, 2007) The New York State AIDS Advisory Council threatens valued legal protections for all New York State residents testing for HIV, says HIV Law Project.

Existing New York State law provides some of the strongest and most effective protections in the United States for people living with and testing for HIV. The Council’s recent resolution, which supports the elimination of written informed consent, undermines these valuable and effective protections. The Council’s resolution sends the wrong signal to state lawmakers who will soon vote on factually weak and misdirected legislation that seeks to increase the number of people testing for HIV in New York State by eliminating written informed consent.

No evidence exists to support the proposition that the current statutory requirement for written informed consent creates a barrier to testing. “Both the Council’s resolution and current legislation under review by the New York State Legislature ignore the hard facts on HIV testing, are counterproductive, and disempower the individuals, communities and institutions that they should be supporting,” says Tracy Welsh, Executive Director at HIV Law Project.

HIV Law Project supports the expansion of access to voluntary HIV testing. However, it is essential that medical providers obtain written informed consent before performing an HIV test. Mandatory written informed consent ensures that HIV testing is truly voluntary, and that patients understand the implications of being tested. New York State need only look to its own prenatal HIV testing schema for an effective model that preserves written informed consent and protects the medical decision-making rights of people testing for HIV. Since August 1999, New York State regulations have required medical providers of prenatal services to provide HIV counseling to all pregnant women and recommend HIV testing as a routine part of prenatal care. Just one year after the regulations were implemented, voluntary HIV testing among pregnant women increased by 13%, and rates of voluntary testing among pregnant women are now at an all time high of 9596%.

Sound health policy, particularly efforts to increase access to voluntary HIV testing, must be consistent with, and take account of, the protection of individual rights. In order to encourage testing and ensure public support and participation in the maintenance of public health, New York’s law mandating written, informed consent for HIV testing must be preserved.