HIV test compulsory before marriage? Goa is considering, says health min

Health Minister Vishwajit Rane added that the proposal to make HIV testing compulsory before marriage was being vetted by the Law Department

Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane on Tuesday said that the seaside state’s legislature was pondering making HIV tests compulsory before the enrollment of relational unions. “We are thinking about making a HIV test obligatory for the imminent couples before enrollment of marriage in Goa. It isn’t obligatory at the present time,” Rane told IANS.

Rane, who is additionally a Minister for Law, added that the proposition to make HIV testing mandatory before marriage was being checked by the Law Department. “On the off chance that it is cleared by the Department soon, at that point we will table the law in the rainstorm session of the state Legislative Assembly,” Rane said.

The rainstorm session will start on July 15. In 2006, a comparative proposition was mooted by then Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar, with the Goa bureau supporting the enactment making HIV testing obligatory before marriage. Yet, the activity did not achieve fulfillment.