Bill Text: NJ S1274 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires HIV testing for pregnant women and marriage license applicants.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-08 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [S1274 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-S1274-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris)
SYNOPSIS
Requires HIV testing for pregnant women and marriage license applicants.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning testing for HIV among pregnant women and marriage license applicants, amending P.L.1995, c.174 and supplementing Title 37 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1995, c.174 (C.26:5C-16) is amended to read as follows:
2. It is the policy of this State that: testing of all pregnant women for HIV shall be part of routine prenatal care; and, in the absence of a specific objection to the testing by the pregnant woman, all pregnant women shall be tested for HIV as early as possible in their pregnancy, and again during the third trimester of their pregnancy; testing of all pregnant women for HIV shall be [voluntary and] free of coercion; and a pregnant woman shall not be denied testing for HIV on the basis of her economic status.
a. (1) A physician or other health care practitioner who is the primary caregiver for a pregnant woman or a woman who seeks treatment within four weeks of giving birth, shall, in accordance with guidelines developed by the commissioner[,]: provide the woman with information about HIV and AIDS, including an explanation of HIV infection and the meanings of positive and negative test results, [and also]; inform the woman of the benefits of being tested for HIV as early as possible in the course of her pregnancy and a second time during the third trimester, the medical treatment available to treat HIV infection if diagnosed early, the reduced rate of transmission of HIV to a fetus if an HIV-infected pregnant woman receives treatment for HIV, and the interventions that are available to reduce the risk of transmission of HIV to the fetus and newborn; inform the woman that she is required to be tested for HIV unless she indicates in writing her refusal to be tested on a form and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner; and test the woman for HIV unless she indicates her written refusal as hereinabove provided. The information shall be provided orally or in writing, and the woman shall be offered an opportunity to ask questions.
The physician or other health care practitioner shall also advise the woman that HIV testing is recommended for all pregnant women both early in their pregnancy and during the third trimester, and that she will receive HIV tests as part of the routine panel of prenatal tests unless she specifically declines in writing to be tested for HIV on a form and in a manner prescribed by the commissioner.
If a woman declines to be tested for HIV, the declination shall be documented in her medical record. A woman shall not be denied appropriate prenatal or other medical care because she declines to be tested for HIV.
(2) A pregnant woman, who presents herself for delivery and has not been tested for HIV during the course of her pregnancy, shall be given the information specified in paragraph (1) of this subsection as soon as may be medically appropriate and, unless she declines to be tested for HIV after receiving that information, shall be tested for HIV as soon as may be medically appropriate.
b. The commissioner shall establish guidelines regarding notification to a woman whose test result is positive, and to provide, to the maximum extent possible, for counseling about the significance of the test result.
c. Information about a woman which is obtained pursuant to this section shall be held confidential in accordance with the provisions of P.L.1989, c.303 (C.26:5C-5 et seq.).
(cf: P.L. 2007, c.218, s.2)
2. (New Section) a. (1) Before a person who is authorized by law to issue marriage licenses shall issue a marriage license, each applicant therefor shall file with him a certificate signed by a physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this or another State, or in any territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, or by a commissioned medical officer on active duty with the Armed Forces of the United States or with the Public Health Service, which certificate shall state that the applicant has submitted to an approved test for the presence of HIV and the physician has notified the applicant in writing of the result of this test on the form prescribed by the Department Health and Senior Services pursuant to subsection c. of this section. The physician signing the certificate shall set forth the physician's office address therein, and the certificate shall be valid for 30 days from the date of the first approved test for the presence of HIV, if the test is not completed on the same date.
(2) A physician licensed to practice medicine and surgery in this State may submit to the person authorized by law to issue marriage licenses, in lieu of the certificate, a statement over the physician's signature that the female applicant for the license is near the termination of her pregnancy or that the death of one or both applicants is imminent, and that the physician has taken blood samples adequate for testing for the presence of HIV from the applicant or applicants, excepting those whose death is imminent, and forwarded the samples to the Department of Health and Senior Services laboratory; in which case a certificate shall not be required of the applicant or applicants prior to issuance of a license.
b. The certificate required pursuant to subsection a. of this section shall contain a statement signed by the person in charge of the laboratory making the test, or another person authorized by the laboratory to sign the certificate, setting forth the test performed, the date thereof, the name and address of the person whose blood was tested, and certifying that the laboratory is approved for performance of tests for the presence of HIV by the Department of Health and Senior Services or the Armed Forces of the United States or the Public Health Service, or by the department of health of the District of Columbia or the territory or State in which the laboratory is situated. The applicant shall also sign a statement on the certificate setting forth that he is the applicant referred to therein.
c. The certificate shall be on a form to be provided and distributed by the Department of Health and Senior Services to approved laboratories in the State or on a form approved for use in this State by the department. This form is hereinafter referred to in this section as the "Premarital Certificate Form." A notice to the applicants of the result of the approved test for the presence of HIV required by subsection a. of this section, as prescribed by the Department of Health and Senior Services, shall be attached to the form and shall include information concerning the implications of a positive test result.
d. For the purpose of this section, "an approved test for the presence of HIV" means a test to determine if the human immunodeficiency virus or any related virus identified as a probable causative agent of AIDS is present, which is performed in a laboratory in this State that is approved to conduct the test by the Department of Health and Senior Services, by the department of health of the District of Columbia or the territory or State in which the laboratory is situated, or in a laboratory of the Armed Forces of the United States or the United States Public Health Service.
The laboratory test required by this section may be performed in the laboratories of the Department of Health and Senior Services.
e. An applicant for a marriage license, physician, or representative of a laboratory who shall misrepresent any of the facts called for by the "Premarital Certificate Form" or a physician's statement, submitted in lieu thereof, or the notice to the applicants concerning the test for the presence of HIV prescribed by this section; or any licensing officer who shall fail to receive the "Premarital Certificate Form," or a physician's statement, submitted in lieu thereof, or who shall have reason to believe that any of the facts thereon, has been so misrepresented, and shall nevertheless issue a marriage license; or any person who shall otherwise fail to comply with the provisions of this section shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $10 nor more than $100, to be recovered with costs, in a civil action by and in the name of the local board of health or in the name of the Department of Health and Senior Services, in accordance with the "Penalty Enforcement Law of 1999," P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).
f. Nothing in this section shall prohibit a licensing officer from issuing a marriage license to an applicant with a positive result to the test for the presence of HIV.
3. This act shall take effect on the 60th day after enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that pregnant women, women who seek treatment within four weeks of giving birth, and applicants for a marriage license obtain a test for the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Women and their newborn infants with HIV need to be alerted to the presence of the virus so that they can be effectively treated on a timely basis. The bill is intended to protect the health of women and their newborn children.
Although this bill requires that a pregnant woman shall be tested for HIV (unless she indicates in writing her refusal to undergo testing), she may refuse to do so as long as she indicates her refusal to be tested in writing on a form and in a manner prescribed by the Commissioner of Health and Senior Services. The bill explicitly provides that a woman shall not be denied appropriate prenatal or other medical care because she decides not to be tested for HIV.
In addition, while the bill requires this test in order to obtain a marriage license, the bill also explicitly provides that a person with a positive HIV test result shall not be prohibited from getting married.
The provisions of this bill reflect the medical and pharmacological advancements of the past decade that have made it possible to treat HIV infection and AIDS much more effectively than in the past.
The bill takes effect on the 60th day after its enactment.
