In southern Indian Andhra Pradesh state Govenment thinks over compulsory HIV Test before marriage

(20 Dec. 2006) : The government in India’s southern Andhra Pradesh state is considering passing a new law which will make it compulsory for couples to get HIV tests done before marriage. As per United Nations’ study, India has the world's highest number of HIV infected persons, of which Andhra Pradesh is one of the worst-hit states. It is estimated that between 500,000 and a million people are infected with HIV in the 78-million-strong population of Andhra Pradesh, which puts it at second position after Maharashtra which currently tops the chart of HIV positive people in India. One of the major setbacks to curb Aids has been lack of awareness about the disease as well as the stigma associated with it. Apart from Andhra Pradesh, the other state to give serious thought of implementing mandatory HIV tests before marriage is Goa. However, the Catholic Church in India has opposed to the compulsory nature of the test as it feels that no one should be made to undergo the test against his/her wishes. The Catholic health care institutions follow the same principle of informed consent, voluntary testing with counselling support and abstain from any unethical testing practice so that dignity of each individual is respected always.