Letter to the Editor, Virginian-Pilot, 08 June 2013
RE ‘FREE HIV tests for teens in public raise eyebrows‘ (front page, June 6):
I wish to clarify a few points in The Pilot’s story on the country’s first public HIV testing, a program I am leading.
Norfolk has the highest rates of HIV in the state and one of the highest rates of sexually transmitted infections in the nation. Sexually active youths throughout Hampton Roads are at great risk.
This fall, I began a pilot program to educate teens about the new, FDA-approved home-test kits. These tests are not discussed in schools. My team, which includes trained college interns, took the oral swab tests to public venues to show youths that they had nothing to fear from being tested. AIDS is no longer the death sentence that it was when I first began my doctoral research at Harvard 25 years ago.
Medications are now available to control the disease if it is discovered early on (as in the case of NBA legend Magic Johnson). The problem is that 90 percent of youths do not get tested, because of the stigma. Too many adolescents feel invincible and don’t believe they are vulnerable. We tell them that it is better to know about their status. Overwhelmingly, young people say they prefer taking tests in the presence of supportive friends and peers.
We believe it is a human right of all youths to test their bodies as they see fit. Talking about it is covered by free speech. This dispute is more about politics than public health. City officials are using quasi-legal roadblocks and threats of monetary damages to try to prevent us from reaching youths who are at risk. Our team will not videotape, nor will we publicly announce any HIV-positive results.
In Virginia Beach, city officials are insisting that state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issue a directive clarifying the law in light of the new technology available in the home-test kits. Virginia law states that any 14-year-old has the right to get tested for HIV at any clinic without parental knowledge or consent.
We offer our tests to youths ages 16 and older, and then only after they receive counseling in case the result is positive. I have known more than 120 teens who have died of AIDS during my volunteer work, and it breaks my heart when someone gets bad news. But we know this work is for the public good.
John Chittick
Norfolk
Related Information:
- Virginian-Pilot: Original Article
- Virginian-Pilot: Letter to the Editor
- WAVY TV: TeenAIDS charity ready to fight city
- TeenAIDS challenges law on behalf of teens’ rights to test their own bodies