Whats less evident is why he ignores the best advice of public health officials and recommends compulsory AIDS testing that has little relevance to the incidence of the disease. Mr. Reagan would like to see the AIDS test applied to immigrants. Federal prisoners. patients at veterans hospitals. people getting married and those attending sexual disease clinics. Apart from prison populations containing drug addicts. these are not the groups at highest risk for AIDS. As for premarital testing. the Federal Centers for Disease Control finds that it "is unlikely to be very effective." because most AIDS victims are drug addicts and homosexuals and the incidence of marriage among these groups is low. There is historical precedent and good reason for testing and excluding wouldbe immigrants with communicable diseases. And offering the AIDS test to those attending sexual disease clinics makes excellent sense if it is voluntary. Otherwise. all that would accomplish is to discourage people from attending the clinics.
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immigrants