The U.S. Congress is considering legislation—H.R. 1872—that
would require mandatory HIV testing of all newborns except those
whose mothers were tested during pregnancy. This article presents a
detailed analysis of the complex issues involved in the proposed
legislation. It also describes the authors' programmatic response that
incorporates feminist and social work values, given the likely passage
of the bill. This response includes the anticipated social service needs
(education and supportive counseling) of mothers whose HIV status
is revealed through tests of newborns.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Ackerman, G. (1995, July 27). Babies have rights. Queens Courier, p. 15.
2.
Acuff, K., & Faden, R. (1991). A history of prenatal and newborn screening programs: Lessons for the future In R. Faden, G. Geller, & M. Powers (Eds.), AIDS, women and the next generation (pp. 59-93). New York: Oxford University Press.
3.
Barth, R., Pietrzak, J., & Kamler, M. (1993). Towards more effective and efficient programs for drugs and AIDS-affected families. In Families living with drugs and HIV interventions and treatment strategies (pp. 59-81). New York: Guilford.
4.
Bell, K.N. (1989). AIDS and women: Remaining ethical issuesAIDS Education and Prevention, 1, 22-30.
5.
Bell, K.N. (1992). Women and AIDS: Too little, too late? In H. B. Holmes & L. M. Purdy (Eds.), Feminist perspectives in medical ethics (pp. 46-62). Bloomington : Indiana University Press.
6.
Buckingham, S., & Rehm, S.J. (1987). AIDS and women at risk. Health and Social Work, 12, 5-11.
7.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ( 1994). HIV/AIDS surveillance report, Vol. 6(1). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
8.
Curran, J., Jaffe, H., Hardy, A., Morgan, W., Selik, R., & Dondero, T. (1988). Epidemiology of HIV infection and AIDS in the United StatesScience, 239, 610-616.
9.
Dicks, B. (1994). African American women and AIDS: A public health/social work challenge. In M. M. Oilstone (Ed.), Women's health and social work: Feminist perspective (pp.123-143). New York: Haworth.
10.
Doctors back AIDS tests for pregnant women. (1996, June 28). New York Times, p. A20.
11.
Gayle, H. (Speaker). (1995, August 15). MacNeil/Lehrer news hour.New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service .
12.
Hardy, L. (1991). HIV screening of pregnant women and newborns . Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
13.
Hutton, N., & Wissow, L. (1991). Maternal and newborn HIV screening: Implications for children and families In R. Faden, G. Geller, & M. Powers (Eds.), AIDS, women and the next generation (pp.105-120). New York: Oxford University Press.
14.
Kalichman, S., Kelly, J., Hunter, T., Murphy, D., & Tyler, R. (1993). Culturally tailored HIV-AIDS risk-reduction messages targeted to African American urban women: Impact on risk sensitization and risk reduction. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology , 61, 291-295.
15.
Kamerman, S. (1975). A paradigm for programming. Social Service Review, 49 , 412-420.
16.
Kaplan, M.S., & Krell-Long, L. (1993). AIDS, health policy, and ethics. Affilia, 8, 157-170.
17.
Kaspar, B. (1989). Women and AIDS: A psychosocial perspective. Affilia, 4, 7-22.
18.
Kelly, P., & Holman, S. (1993). The new face of AIDS. American Journal of Nursing, 10, 26-34.
19.
Land, H. (1994). AIDS and women of color. Families in Society, 75, 355-361.
20.
Meltzer-Olson, M. (1994). Women's health and social work: Feminist perspective. New York: Haworth.
21.
Mitchell, J. (Speaker). (1995, August 15). MacNeil/Lehrer news hour.New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.
22.
Nokes, K.M. (1991). Pre-test and post-test counseling In M. Tallmer, C. Clason, R. Lampke, A. Kutscher, E. Braun, & F. Selder (Eds.), HIV positive perspectives on counseling (pp. 68-80). Philadelphia : Charles Press.
23.
Perry, S.W., Jacobsberg, L., Fishman, B., Frances, A., Bobo, J., & Jacobsberg, B.K. (1990). Journal of the American Medical Association, 263 , 679-682.
24.
Pierce, D. (1984). Policy for the social work practitioner.New York: Longman.
25.
Powers, M. (1991). Legal protections of confidential medical information and the need for antidiscrimination laws In R. Faden, G. Geller, & M. Powers (Eds.), AIDS, women and the next generation (pp. 221-258). New York: Oxford University Press.
26.
Rappoport, F. (Speaker). (1995, August 15). MacNeil/Lehrer news hour . New York and Washington, DC: Public Broadcasting Service.
27.
Sack, K. (1995, July 14). House panel to draft bill on AIDS tests of newbornsNew York Times, p. A15.
28.
Serovich, J.M., & Greene, K. (1993). Perceptions of family boundaries: The case of disclosure of HIV testing information. Family Relations , 42,193-197.
29.
Sherr, L. (1993). HIV testing in pregnancy. In C. Squire (Ed.), Women and AIDS psychological perspectives (pp. 42-68). London: Sage.
30.
Sherwin, S. (1992). Feminist and medical ethics. In H. B. Holmes & L. M. Purdy (Eds.), Feminist perspectives in medical ethics (pp.17-31). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
31.
Smith, R. (1995, October). "Pregnancy HIV tests raise rights question."NASW News, p. 5.
32.
Stuntzner-Gibson, D. (1991). Women and HIV disease: An emerging social crisis . Social Work, 36, 22-28.
33.
Tayler, L. (1995, October 11). New rights for moms in HIV test. Newsday, p.A4 .
34.
Vuorio, K., Erkki, A., & Lehtinen, V. (1990). Eight cases of patients with unfounded fear of AIDS. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine , 20, 404-411.
35.
Working Group of HIV Testing of Pregnant Women and Newborns. (1990). HIV infection, pregnant women and newborns: A policy proposal for information and testing. Journal of the American Medical Association, 264, 2416-2420.
36.
Zinberg, N. (1989). Mandatory testing for drugs and AIDS. In M. Falco & W. I. Ciskins (Eds.), Toward a national drug policy on drug and AIDS testing (pp. 60-78). Washington, DC : Brookings Institution.
