AIDS: Who Should Be Tested?
Hardly anyone disputes the notion that testing should be readily available on a voluntary basis. After that, however, the issue can quickly become enormously difficult. Should only those in high-risk groups be tested? Does it make any sense to test tourists visiting a country? How about those applying for permanent-residence visas? How should the result be handled? Is it ethical to require doctors and clinics to report the names of those who test positive to health authorities, when such information can lead to social and professional ostracism? Does a doctor have a right to tell or wife of an AIDS patient about the spouse's condition?
In February 1987, authorities in the West German State of Bavaria announced what may be the most draconian testing regulations anywhere in the world. The plan managed to appear spotty* and sweeping* at the same time. It ordered mandatory testing for all prostitutes and drug addicts and gave the power to arrest anyone who refuse to cooperate. In an effort to curb the spread of the disease, the regulation also stipulated that all non-EC* nationals seeking to stay in Bavara more than three months on permanent-residence visas must pass an AIDS test.
The announcement of the steps trigged a wave of angry demonstrations and denunciations. What point was there, critics asked, in screening non-EC immigrants when infected EC nationals would theoretically still be able to spread the disease; and weren't the measures, they added, a little like shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted, since AIDS had already spread to Bavara. Opponents also argued that the new testing regulations for addicts and prostitutes raised disturbing civil-liberties questions, and in any event would serve only to discourage many likely carriers from coming forward to receive counseling on how to guard against infecting others. People will also think the state is tracking them.
In most countries, the push for testing has come from extreme conservatives and religious fundamentalists. In France, Jean-Marie Lepen, leader of the ultra-right National Front, has called for all French citizens to be tested twice a year. And some right-wingers in Britain have demanded that all immigrants be screened, a move that the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's conservative government has staunchly resisted.
In the future, though, it may become harder to adhere to that restraint. One reason is the American government's decision in 1987 to institute mandatory testing for all those applying for permanent-residence visas in the United States. Some public health officials fear that Washington's policy may eventually force other governments to follow suit, even if it is against their better judgement. "look, after the Americans have taken this sort of step, how do you explain it is not useful to your own population?" ask one France-based health official for a European agency. "In time Europe will also create this sort of barrier. I can see it coming".
From "Who should be tested?" Newsweek, August 10,1987 (PP. 13-16)
VOCABULARY
*Spotty: local
*Sweeping: global
*EC: European Community
I/ GUIDED COMMENTARY (14 points)
1) What is the political dilemma around the world, as far as AIDS is concerned? (2pts)
2) What can be the consequences of imposing AIDS testing on high-risk groups and immigrants? (3pts)
3) What do you think of mandatory, AIDS testing? (3pts)
4) Does AIDS represent a menace to our society? (6pts)
II/ TRANSLATION (06points)
Translate from "In most countries".....to "in the United States".
Hardly anyone disputes the notion that testing should be readily available on a voluntary basis. After that, however, the issue can quickly become enormously difficult. Should only those in high-risk groups be tested? Does it make any sense to test tourists visiting a country? How about those applying for permanent-residence visas? How should the result be handled? Is it ethical to require doctors and clinics to report the names of those who test positive to health authorities, when such information can lead to social and professional ostracism? Does a doctor have a right to tell or wife of an AIDS patient about the spouse's condition?
In February 1987, authorities in the West German State of Bavaria announced what may be the most draconian testing regulations anywhere in the world. The plan managed to appear spotty* and sweeping* at the same time. It ordered mandatory testing for all prostitutes and drug addicts and gave the power to arrest anyone who refuse to cooperate. In an effort to curb the spread of the disease, the regulation also stipulated that all non-EC* nationals seeking to stay in Bavara more than three months on permanent-residence visas must pass an AIDS test.
The announcement of the steps trigged a wave of angry demonstrations and denunciations. What point was there, critics asked, in screening non-EC immigrants when infected EC nationals would theoretically still be able to spread the disease; and weren't the measures, they added, a little like shutting the barn door after the horse has bolted, since AIDS had already spread to Bavara. Opponents also argued that the new testing regulations for addicts and prostitutes raised disturbing civil-liberties questions, and in any event would serve only to discourage many likely carriers from coming forward to receive counseling on how to guard against infecting others. People will also think the state is tracking them.
In most countries, the push for testing has come from extreme conservatives and religious fundamentalists. In France, Jean-Marie Lepen, leader of the ultra-right National Front, has called for all French citizens to be tested twice a year. And some right-wingers in Britain have demanded that all immigrants be screened, a move that the former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's conservative government has staunchly resisted.
In the future, though, it may become harder to adhere to that restraint. One reason is the American government's decision in 1987 to institute mandatory testing for all those applying for permanent-residence visas in the United States. Some public health officials fear that Washington's policy may eventually force other governments to follow suit, even if it is against their better judgement. "look, after the Americans have taken this sort of step, how do you explain it is not useful to your own population?" ask one France-based health official for a European agency. "In time Europe will also create this sort of barrier. I can see it coming".
From "Who should be tested?" Newsweek, August 10,1987 (PP. 13-16)
VOCABULARY
*Spotty: local
*Sweeping: global
*EC: European Community
I/ GUIDED COMMENTARY (14 points)
1) What is the political dilemma around the world, as far as AIDS is concerned? (2pts)
2) What can be the consequences of imposing AIDS testing on high-risk groups and immigrants? (3pts)
3) What do you think of mandatory, AIDS testing? (3pts)
4) Does AIDS represent a menace to our society? (6pts)
II/ TRANSLATION (06points)
Translate from "In most countries".....to "in the United States".