Abstract
The effectiveness of a mandatory premarital screening program to curtail the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the U.S. was examined by a subgroup of the Study Group on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome and Public Policy in the Division of Health Policy Research and Education at Harvard University. In one year such screening would detect fewer than one-tenth of one percent of HIV-infected individuals at a cost of more than $100 million with more than 100 false-negative and more that 350 false-positive tests. The authors maintain that screening statutes that significantly restrict marriage would be constitutional only if they were the least restrictive policy to achieve a compelling public health purpose. They conclude that public health education, individual counseling, and discretionary testing of populations with a moderately high prevalence of infection would be a more effective and efficient use of resources to reduce transmission of HIV. (KIE abstract)
