Blood testing in U.S. for a century

Press, 2 October 1987, Page 4

Blood testing in U.S. for a century

Blood testing and medical certificates have been legal prerequisites for a marriage licence in the United States for more than a century. The United States Information Service’s public affairs officer in Christchurch, Mr Carl Stoltz, said physical examinations and testing for blood diseases were required in all but 15 of the 50 states.

Las Vegas, famous for its “10-minute weddings,” was not among the .states requiring medical examinations, he said. The tests were for veneral disease, sickle cell anaemia, and tuberculosis. Some states were also required to give women a rubella test The examinations had “evolved” from the original state law, and had been part of the civil law

process for so long that no-one considered them an infringement of rights, said Mr Stoltz. No couples were refused a wedding ceremony, even if one of them had a disease or disorder that could be bad for the other.

The standards for testing varied from state to state, as each Government made its own decisions on testing. After testing, a wait of between 72 hours and 10 days was required before a marriage licence could become effective.

The law did not apply to common law marriages (de facto relationships). New Zealanders marrying American military personnel, based in New Zealand, were asked, along with prospective spouses, to have chest X-

rays and blood tests.

The examinations were part of the United States Government’s citizens immigration requirement, rather than specifically for marriage licences. A screening programme for A.I.D.S. had also been done by the United States Government for any military personnel based overseas since 1975. The personnel were tested in the first six months they were transferred overseas and then every year they were posted in that country. Anyone detected with the A.I.D.S. antibodies or the actual virus itself was sent back to the United States.

"American military personnel, contrary to some views, were actually among the safest source of casual sex,” said Mr Stoltz.