New Jersey: Privacy for Minors Gains on HIV/AIDS Tests

The New Jersey Assembly's Health and Human Services Committee on Thursday approved a bill to allow youths to get tested for HIV without letting their parents know. State law already allows minors to undergo testing and treatment for STDs and substance abuse without telling their parents, but the law is so old it does not apply to HIV/AIDS, said the sponsor of the new bill, Assemblymember Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer). He said many young people will refuse to be tested unless their confidentiality is protected. The bill passed 5-0 with one abstention: Assemblymember Samuel Thompson (R-Monmouth) said parents should know if their child needs treatment. "You're saddling a lot of responsibility on the kid," he said.

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