The End of Written Informed Consent for HIV Testing: Not With a Bang but a Whimper

In 2014, only two states in the United States still mandated specific written informed consent for HIV testing and, after years of controversy, New York ended this requirement, leaving only Nebraska. New York’s shift to opt-out testing meant that a singular feature of what had characterized the exce...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAmerican journal of public health (1971) Vol. 107; no. 8; pp. 1259 - 1265
Main Authors Bayer, Ronald, Philbin, Morgan, Remien, Robert H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Public Health Association 01.08.2017
Subjects
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Activists
Advocacy
AIDS
AJPH History
Counseling
Disease control
Disease prevention
Documentation
Economic conditions
Economic forecasts
Economic indicators
Editorials
Ethics
Exceptionalism
Fines & penalties
Health Policy - legislation & jurisprudence
HIV
HIV Seropositivity - diagnosis
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Informed consent
Informed Consent - legislation & jurisprudence
Mass Screening
Medical tests
Political activism
Public health
Sexually transmitted diseases
Statistical data
STD
Stigma
United States
United States > US
Nebraska
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Summary:In 2014, only two states in the United States still mandated specific written informed consent for HIV testing and, after years of controversy, New York ended this requirement, leaving only Nebraska. New York’s shift to opt-out testing meant that a singular feature of what had characterized the exceptionalism surrounding HIV testing was eliminated. We trace the history of debates on written informed consent nationally and in New York State. Over the years of dispute from when HIV testing was initiated in 1985 to 2014, the evidence about the benefits and burdens of written informed consent changed. Just as important was the transformation of the political configuration of HIV advocacy and funding, both nationwide and in New York State. What had for years been the subject of furious debate over what a rational and ethical screening policy required came to an end without the slightest public protest. (Am J Public Health. 2017;107:1259–1265. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303819)
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All authors contributed to the conceptualization, research, and writing of this article.
CONTRIBUTORS
ISSN:0090-0036
1541-0048
1541-0048
DOI:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303819