June 13, 2008
ACTION ALERT: STOP BAD HIV TESTING BILL!
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Gottfried and Mayersohn: Informed consent is in trouble in Albany |
After a one week delay, on June 17 the New York State Assembly Health Committee is scheduled to vote on two competing bills to overhaul Article 27-f, the HIV testing and consent law that protects the confidentiality and privacy of anyone who has been tested for or exposed to HIV. Bill A.4813 is proposed by Nettie Mayersohn, and bill A.11461 was created by the New York State Department of Health and introduced by Dick Gottfried.
Now is the time to tell your Assembly member that you oppose Mayersohn's short-sighted bill. Call the Assembly switchboard toll-free 866-802-0640 and contact members of the Assembly Health Committee: Jim Bacalles, (R-Corning), Jonathan Bing (D-Manhattan), Kevin Cahill (D-Kingston), James Conte (R-Huntington), Steven Cymbrowitz (D-Brooklyn), Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx), Patricia Eddington (D-Medford), Sandy Galef, (D-Ossining), Aileen Gunther (D-Monticello), Stephen Hawley (R-Albion), Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills), Rhoda Jacobs (D-Brooklyn),William Magnarelli (R- Syracuse), Nettie Mayersohn (D-Flushing), David McDonough (R-Bellmore), Joel Miller (R-Poughkeepsie), Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale), Crystal Peoples (D-Buffalo), Jack Quinn (R-Blasdell), Andrew Raia (R-Northport), Naomi Rivera (D-Bronx), Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), Robin Schimminger (D-Kenmore), Darryl C. Towns (D-Brooklyn).
It's unclear how the Assembly members will vote, with some—like Hevesi and Magnarelli—likely to vote for both bills. These double dippers don't want to back down on their word to Mayersohn—who approached them about cosponsoring months ago—even though they now prefer the Gottfried bill.
Housing Works isn't endorsing either bill, since neither ensures truly informed consent to HIV testing. Under the existing version of 27-f, healthcare providers are obligated to ask patients if they will take an HIV test, as well as provide pre- and post-test counseling. Gottfried's bill revises 27-f to include only an "opt-out" measure for declining an HIV test, a plan that undermines consent by failing to ensure that patients understand what tests they are agreeing to take.
Mayersohn's bill on the other hand, is harmful and should be vigorously opposed. Not only does A.4813 eliminate all consent for HIV testing, it also nixes pre and post-test counseling. Mayersohn's legislation is deeply troubling not just for people who test positive for HIV, but for those who test negative as well. Say, for example, a woman receives a notification from the health department that one of her partners has HIV, and the woman subsequently tests negative for HIV. Under Mayersohn's bill, the woman would be sent along her merry way, with no tools that could help her address her partner's HIV status and help her stay negative.
"Nettie Mayersohn and Housing Works share the same goal of increasing the number of people who are tested in order to increase access to life-saving treatment and care. But Mayersohn's bill is dangerous, however, because it allows for testing of people against their will," said Housing Works president and CEO Charles King.
Dozens of New York groups that oppose A.4813 have signed a "statement of principles" (see below) that New York State should adhere to in crafting HIV testing and consent laws. The following groups have all signed on to the principles outlined below: Hispanic AIDS Forum, New York AIDS Coalition, Centro Civico of Amsterdam Inc., Housing Works, New York Civil Liberties Union, Bronx AIDS Services, Community Healthcare Network, Institute for Family Health, Betances Health Center, Legal Action Center, HIV Law Project, Brooklyn United Community Coalition, Center for HIV Law and Policy, AIDS Council of Northeastern New York, AIDS Community Research Initiative of America (ACRIA), Citiwide Harm Reduction, Lambda Legal, St. Ann's Corner of Harm Reduction, Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project (CHAMP), Washington Heights Corner Project, Safe Horizons and Community Health Action
Statement of principles: Expanding access to voluntary HIV testing
The undersigned groups share the goal of expanding the availability of HIV testing and streamlining the testing process for providers. But expanding and streamlining testing cannot come at the expense of guaranteeing informed consent. In fact, ensuring that people understand what they are being tested for and what a positive test result means in terms of treatment availability, transmission prevention, and confidentiality and antidiscrimination protections is sound public health policy. When people understand the test and its implications, they are more likely to seek treatment and engage in efforts to reduce the spread of HIV.
We believe that:
1. Our goal is not testing for testing's sake. Getting more people tested should not be an end in itself, but rather, a way to reduce the overall number of cases of HIV transmission to connect HIV-infected people with lifesaving care;
2. Streamlining the HIV testing process does not require eliminating the protections that informed consent provides, and this is consistent with CDC recommendations;
3. Expanding access to testing for all New Yorkers can be done by making HIV-related testing a routine part of primary care;
4. It is critical that people freely choose to be tested for HIV and provide informed consent in writing prior to the test to indicate that testing is being done voluntarily;
5. Informed consent means that people affirmatively choose whether or not to be tested for HIV, not that they are given the option to decline to be tested;
6. People should be fully informed about the availability of anonymous testing, who will have access to the results of the test, how those results can be used and what legal protections exist to vindicate any resulting discrimination before they choose to be tested; and
7. Existing confidentiality protections that do not operate as a barrier to testing must be retained.
We can increase the number of New Yorkers who know their HIV status in a way that is compatible both with civil and human rights AND sound public health policy. Dismantling written informed consent laws and patient/provider protections is not the way to do it. For these reasons, the undersigned oppose A.4813/S.7529.
To sign on to the principles outlined above, contact terri smith-caronia at smith-caronia@housingworks.org.