Bombay HC to decide premarital HIV testing

[Guest guest]

Bombay HC to decide premarital HIV testing

Priyanka Bhattacharya

Wednesday, April 19, 2006 (Mumbai):

The growing risk of contracting HIV from one's spouse has sparked a

volatile debate on whether it should be a law for all couples to

test for the virus before getting married.

Meena was applying for a job in the Gulf and went for a usual

fitness test, when doctors told her she was HIV positive.

''I found out I was HIV positive and so was my husband. I got it

from him. I got my son tested. Even he is HIV positive,'' said

Meena.

Hard truth

Two years after living with her husband she came face to face with

the hard truth. Her husband was repeatedly unfaithful for which she

and her infant son were now paying the price.

" I did not divorce him because I knew he would immediately marry

someone else and ruin her life,'' said Meena.

NDTV encountered another such case in Goa.

" My husband was HIV positive before marriage. I did not know. If I

had known, I would have never married this man. Now I am HIV

positive and have to survive somehow,'' said Aarti, person living

with HIV.

It was after cases like these came to light that a Public Interest

Litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay High Court demanding

mandatory HIV tests for every bride and groom before marriage.

''The idea behind this petition is that a person must be aware that

his/her spouse is HIV positive. If someone gets into this

voluntarily, it's fine. But someone concealing this deliberately is

like cheating,'' said Jaya Nair, an advocate.

Opposing this petition is the state that says a law of this nature

violates privacy and personal freedom. The debate is between one

group's right to privacy vis-à-vis another group's right to life.

''Mandatory testing has pros and cons. Of course human rights issues

are very important. But to my mind, in a marriage, even the spouse's

rights are important.

" When we talk about human rights, I as a person need not violate my

human right. But while my rights are protected, my spouses right's

also need to be protected,'' said Alka Gogate, AIDS activist.

As per the National AIDS Control Organisation guidelines, no

individual should be made to undergo a mandatory HIV test.

Mandatory testing

The guidelines also stipulate that no mandatory HIV test should be a

precondition for employment or providing healthcare.

And in case of marriage a test can be carried out only if a partner

insists on it

''There is a concern of violating human rights because the test

should be private. Also, testing before marriage may not give

protection after marriage.

" You don't know how the spouse will behave after marriage. Since

testing once will not be sufficient to prevent AIDS, it's not

feasible,'' said Dr Anand Chitale, Joint Director, Maharashtra AIDS

Control Society.

That's the biggest argument against pre-marital HIV tests. What use

is it if it cannot rule out unsafe sex or promiscuity in future? On

the contrary, it may lull some people into a false sense of security.

The debate rages on. Should the Bombay High Court support victims

like Meena and Arati?

Or should it try to protect the thousands of HIV infected who

without a cover of privacy could be ostracized and shunned by our

conservative society?

One way or the other it will be a landmark judgement for

Maharashtra, one of the highest risk states in India.

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