In what is seen as a pioneering step in ensuring transparency and right to information before marriage, the Goa Government has mooted the idea of conducting mandatory HIV tests before registration of marriages.
In what is seen as a pioneering step in ensuring transparency and right to information before marriage, the Goa Government has mooted the idea of conducting mandatory HIV tests before registration of marriages.
Addressing the media, Goa's Health Minister, Viswajit Rane revealed that they were considering making the HIV test mandatory for all couples wishing to get married and registering their marriages in Goa, though it was not mandatory at present. The Goa Government is also mulling on the passage of a Law in this regard in the current monsoon session itself, which began on July 5. "If it is cleared by the Law Department which is drafting the Bill, we would table the Law in the monsoon session of the State Legislative Assembly itself," added Rane.
Even though a similar attempt to make HIV test mandatory was piloted in 2006 by the state of Goa, it did not succeed in passing the Law even after the Cabinet approved.