Aids and Society

Aids and Society

The number of newborns infected by vertical transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus is increasing as the prevalence of HIV-positive women increase within the United States. It is estimated that while seven thousand HIV-positive women become pregnant each year, between one thousand and two thousand of their newborns will be HIV-positive. This research paper will concentrate on the transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus from mother to child, the benefits of drugs intervention, and whether or not the HIV-screening process of pregnant women should remain voluntary or become mandatory.The HIV-virus has proven that it is not a disease to be taken lightly or ignored. I chose this topic because I want to be informed about the virus and its rate of vertical transmission so that I will be able to inform others about such ethical topics: Does the baby have rights and should a pregnant women be denied her right to privacy with respect to HIV? Data shows that AIDS is now increasing faster among females than males, with women accounting for seven percent of cases in 1985 and nineteen percent in 1995. The incidences of HIV-positive heterosexual women have risen dramatically over the pas

On the contrary, "estimated lifetime cost of pediatric HIV-infection has previously been reported to be one hundred thousand dollars"� (Mauskopf et al 133). The result would be the loss of opportunity to provide both counseling and treatment. On July 1, 1995, the Center for Disease Control released guidelines specific for HIV-screening. Voluntary screening programs can enhance cost savings and health benefits for pregnant women. One study showed ninety-six percent of almost thirty-six hundred women at Grady Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, chose to be tested after being counseled. "Maternal transmission accounted for ninety-two percent of all new AIDS cases reported in children in 1994"�(Davis15). Testing of the baby periodically will determine whether or not the HIV antibodies present are actually produced by the baby"tms own immune system, or whether they were passed across the placenta from the mother"tms antibodies. Many pregnant women do not know they are infected with HIV. One would have to ask them in return, "Who is paying for the extensive treatment required by those HIV-infected children. Therefore, there would be fewer stigmas associated with the screening process. Medical groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists say, "mandatory testing simply does not work for the populations most at risk (for the HIV-virus), and could undermine physicians"tm effort to build collaborative, trusting relationships with patients"� (Shelton 15). The combination of the two testing procedures works well by accounting for the rights of the newborn child. The expected total drug costs for zidovudine per case under the AIDS Control Trials Group 076 regimen including all phases of treatment was estimated at eight hundred ninety-five dollars. A major breakthrough in drug intervention began in February 1993.