Nebraska legislators hear arguments on bill requiring HIV tests for pregnant women

LINCOLN — When Dr. Shelley Nelson moved back to Nebraska last summer, she noticed that few expectant mothers had ever been tested for HIV.

The Lincoln pediatrician had previously practiced in Indianapolis, where HIV testing was routine for pregnant women, along with other early-pregnancy blood work. Nelson loses sleep at night over Nebraska’s lack of such testing, she told a panel of lawmakers Thursday.

“It is one test that can save two lives,” she told members of the Nebraska Legislature’s Health and Human Services Committee.

Nelson was among the supporters of a bill that would require physicians to test pregnant women for HIV.

Read more: http://www.omaha.com/livewellnebraska/nebraska-legislators-hear-arguments-on-bill-requiring-hiv-tests-for/article_386e0ee3-96cf-5089-8584-3b659f3b308f.html