Death Penalty

Pregnant Women & HIV Testing

HIV might be one of the most recognized and possibly one of the most frightening diseases of the past twenty or so years. The percentage of infected people in the world is about 0.6 percent which does not seem like much but, if the amount of people in the world is considered (about 6.6 billion) then it shows how many people this epidemic has effected (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006). This percentage has finally started to stabilized over the past few years and new antiretroviral drugs such as Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy (HAART) have been making a positive change in the quality of life for those already infected. Living with HIV, dealing with the pills, the chronic sickness, and the stigma of a mostly unforgiving society has to be difficult. So, what could be worse than that one might ask? The fact that the disease has been passed on to their newborn child has to be unwanted news. The next question then might be can this be stopped? And if so, how? A start to solving this problem would be mandating all pregnant woman to get tested for HIV.

If a pregnant woman is unknowingly infected with HIV it would be unfair to her, as well as the future child who may, in fact, acquire this disease from its mother. Without mandatory HIV testing for pregnant mothers, the chances of spreading the disease becomes much greater. With about 40.3 million people at the end of 2005 already infected with HIV, babies being born everyday carrying this disease only makes the epidemic more frightening and furthers society from stopping it (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002). The tests would not only determine if a woman has the disease, but it would give her options and a head start that she would not have without the test . An HIV positive mother that is not on any antiviral medication has about a twenty three percent chance of passing along the virus to her unborn child (Fan, Connor, Villarreal, p.117). However, with early enough notification and intensive treatment the transmission rate drops from twenty three to about eight percent (Fan, Connor, Villarreal, p.117). So, with the knowledge the test might give someone, they can make a decision whether they want to keep the child, if they want to start taking medication, or in an unfortunate, yet possible case, just continue on with the birth and not do anything about it.

The major problem with mandatory HIV screenings for pregnant mothers is that it might not be possible. The location, the society, and the people are what control the outcome of this disease. Places such as the United States, Europe, and other wealthy and organized countries might be more able to enforce and have the resources to do these tests. However, places like Africa, India, and Asia might not have the organization, the money, or the resources to effectively carry these tests through. The differences in the number of HIV cases between countries also becomes a factor. With the poor, more medically inefficient countries having many more cases of women with HIV than countries such as the United States, it is hard to say there should be mandatory tests all over the world.

The decision to bear a child when one is an HIV positive mother should be well thought out, and a well developed knowledge base should be obtained before the final decision is made. The first issue presented is possibly birthing a child who, from the time of conception, will be medicated and harassed until the day they die. The child will have to take medication daily throughout life, which will never cure them, and never allow them to have a normal child or adulthood. With the high price of HIV medication, it is likely that the child will not receive the toys, clothes, and necessary items for an optimal upbringing. On top of that, they will constantly be sick and perhaps live half the time of a healthy individual. There is no reason that a child, who has done nothing wrong, should have to be just