Call to A.I.D.S. test all couples about to marry

Press, 2 July 1985, Page 18

Call to A.I.D.S. test all couples about to marry

PA Wellington Opponents of homosexual law reform want the Minister of Health, Dr Bassett, to introduce compulsory blood testing of couples about to marry in a bid to contain A.I.D.S. The press officer for the campaign against the Homosexual Law Reform Bill, Mr Barry Reed, said the group had sent a telegram to the Minister on Thursday seeking the compulsory blood testing. “There are strong moral implications of this measure, but proponents of the bill consistently fail to discuss the wider implications of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome and their devastating effects on the public health of this country,” he said. A spokesman for the Min-

ister’s office said Dr Bassett had received the telegram and would reply to it early this week.

Mr Reed said the compulsory blood testing was to stop the possibility of children being infected with A.I.D.S.

“A young man or young woman could have been exposed to A.I.D.S. virus through sexual contact and could possibly infect children with A.1.D.5.,” he said. The campaign has also called for the isolation, in hospitals, of people with the A.I.D.S. virus.

“People who have A.I.D.S. proper should be kept in hospitals. At present they are allowed back into the community,” he said. Yesterday the Gay Taskforce took issue with the call for isolation, saying it

displayed “complete lack of understanding” of the disease, and calling the suggestion “the outcome of ignorance and prejudice.” A Taskforce representative, Mr Bill Logan, said 65 per cent of people who came into contact with the A.I.D.S. virus stayed in good health for at least five years. “Even those who get sick don’t normally need hospitalisation,” he said. “The anti-gay campaign demands that hospital beds be used when it is not necessary. It would be an enormous waste of resources which could be spent on preventive work. “The only way to stop an A.I.D.S. epidemic is by educating people on how they can avoid getting the virus,” he said.