Testing Guidelines For A.i.d.s. Spark Outcry (Press, 18 August 1987)
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Summary: Testing Guidelines For A.i.d.s. Spark Outcry (Press, 18 August 1987)
In August 1987, the United States Centres for Disease Control (C.D.C.) released new guidelines for A.I.D.S. testing, eliciting significant backlash from civil liberties and gay rights organizations. The C.D.C. recommended that testing be conducted for several specific groups, including individuals planning to get married, those entering hospitals, people suffering from other sexually transmitted infections like syphilis, and those who identified as being at risk for A.I.D.S. Additional groups mentioned included prison inmates, prostitutes, intravenous drug users, and women of reproductive age who belonged to high-risk categories. This latter group targeted individuals from communities known to have a high prevalence of A.I.D.S., specifically African and Haitian women. Opposition to these guidelines stemmed from concerns that they could infringe upon individual rights, making many unaware that they could refuse A.I.D.S. testing. The C.D.C. acknowledged the severity of the A.I.D.S. crisis, reporting over 40,000 diagnosed cases in the U.S., with more than half of those individuals having already died. This context highlighted the urgency for public health measures, despite the ethical implications of such broad testing recommendations. Additionally, the C.D.C. announced a revision to the definition of A.I.D.S., which could further increase the number of reported cases. The new criteria included a severe brain disorder termed "H.I.V. dementia complex" and prolonged involuntary weight loss as part of the A.I.D.S. classification. This adjusted definition could set a new international standard for defining the disease. However, Tom Starcher, chief of the surveillance section of the C.D.C.'s A.I.D.S. programme, indicated that the changes would not affect mortality statistics, noting that no individual diagnosed with A.I.D.S. had ever been recorded as having recovered from the disease.
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