Mandatory Testing of Pregnant Women and Newborns: HIV, Drug Use, and Welfare Policy

In this Introduction, the author discusses how the collection of essays provide insightful analysis of biological, legal, and public health issues surrounding mandatory testing of pregnant women and infants for HIV. As background, beginning February 1, 1997, New York ordered that every newborn in the state be tested for HIV-antibodies. In addition, the results are disclosed to the delivering mother, her physician, and her child’s physician, thus raising difficult ethical and policy questions for the Symposium panel.