Church wants voluntary HIV test before marriage

[Guest guest]

Church wants voluntary HIV test before marriage

Panaji (ICNS) -- The Goa government proposes a law to make HIV tests

mandatory before marriage, but the Church in Goa says the law may

cause unintentional injury and couples should be counseled to have

voluntary HIV testing.

A document issued by the Goa archdiocese's Council for Social

Justice and Peace says that the Church should stress the need for

intensive marriage preparation courses and adequate professional

counseling. The full text of the statement follows.

The alarming growth rate of new HIV infections, especially in young

people, has moved the Government of Goa to propose the introduction

of a legislation that will make premarital testing for HIV mandatory.

The Catholic Church, ever conscious of her responsibility towards

society, has consistently shown special concern for those who suffer

and are in distress, and has sided with those denied their human

rights and dignity, accompanying them in their struggles to secure

justice.

This social attitude is clearly expressed in the opening sentence of

The Church in the Modern World, a document released by the Second

Vatican Council, which reads: " The joys and the hopes, the griefs

and the anxieties of men of our time, especially of those who are

poor or afflicted in any way, are the joys and the hopes, the griefs

and the anxieties of the followers of Christ as well. "

The Church in India is deeply concerned about the increasing rate of

HIV infection in the country and she has been intensely mobilizing

her resources to curb its further spread, joining hands with like-

minded groups countrywide.

Indeed, as a fruit of a serious reflection on this issue over the

past few years, she has come out with an official " HIV/AIDS Policy

of the Catholic Church in India, " last year. This document clearly

states that the Church's approach to the problem is guided by an all-

rounded view of the human person as someone created in the image of

God and endowed with a God-given dignity and inalienable human

rights.

In this context, the Church stands firm in her belief that the

traditional teaching of sexual abstinence before marriage and

faithfulness within marriage are the keys to the control of HIV

infection. At the same time, she acknowledges that human failing and

resultant sexual transgressions as well as other modes of

transmission of the virus often end in the infection of innocent,

unknowing and unsuspecting people. She is therefore committed to

provide prevention education to all, especially the youth and the

vulnerable, so that they can make informed, responsible and

meaningful choices that will protect them from being infected with

HIV.

With this in mind, and profoundly anguished at the threatening

spread of HIV infection in our State, the Church in Goa has been

taking various measures for an extensive education of the society at

large, beginning with school and college students. She has

established shelters for HIV patients and, most

importantly, has engaged herself, through one of her Centers, in

intensive counseling of couples preparing to get married. The latter

exercise has borne fruit in many of these counseled couples

voluntarily opting for HIV testing, as part of their marriage

preparation.

Now, in view of the proposed legislation of the State Government to

make HIV testing mandatory before marriage -- and keeping in mind

that the best intended actions can often carry the risk of

unintentional injury that negates and makes such actions

ineffective -- the Church in Goa has consulted a number of

individuals working with different organizations as well as experts

in Medicine, Morals, Law and Sociology, to analyze the various

implications and consequences, if such legislation comes in force.

In the process of these wide-ranging consultations, some important

points emerged, which call into question the proposed legislation

and merit a serious consideration by all. Chief among them are:

a) The unpredictability and false security arising from a negative

test conducted during the window period;

The extensive infrastructural set-up required at various levels

(professionalism in counseling, testing and care of those found

positive) and the enormous expenditures involved;

c) The prevailing tendency towards corruption in official circles,

making false testing and certification a high probability;

d) The difficulty in maintaining confidentiality in case of a

positive detection.

The UNAIDS policy statement on HIV Testing strongly recommends that

voluntariness of testing must remain at the heart of all HIV

policies and programmers, both to comply with human rights

principles and to ensure sustained public health benefits. The same

policy is incorporated in the guidelines of NACO (National AIDS

Control Organization) which state that HIV testing should only be

voluntary, with pre- and post-test counseling.

Respecting the conscience and the freedom that every person has, the

Church in Goa advocates the principle of informed consent and

voluntary testing with counseling support, while she rejects any

form of unethical testing practices that offend the dignity of the

concerned individuals.

She hopes, therefore, that any proposed legislation in this regard

will rather stress the need for intensive preparation courses before

marriage and adequate professional counseling that will in turn lead

to Voluntary HIV Testing by the couple preparing for marriage. Such

measures, she believes, should definitely help in the promotion of a

healthy and a compassionate society, wherein the true value and

dignity of the human person is safeguarded and genuinely respected.

http://www.theindiancatholic.com/newsread.asp?nid=2289

Dr. Pradeep Kasar

e-mail: <kasarpk@...>