Quote:
Originally Posted by epitome
You can get free, anonymous testing at your local clinic. Even if you're positive, nobody is going to wrestle you to the ground for an ID.
At the clinic I go to for testing it's just like the deli counter where you grab a two digit number that will identify you throughout the process.
The reality is that you're going to eventually need treatment and you'll see a doctor (it's not one pill fits all) and that doctor will then report you to the state but that is one of the most closely protected databases there are and I'm not even sure if it is all of your identifying information or just a way to identify you.
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I don't think the majority of people will go to a free clinic and request the test. Too much stigma. And even when you do ask a "regular" doctor for an HIV test...the first thing they do is ask "Why do you think you need it?"
It's embarrassing. And even more embarrassing when you call for a doctor's appointment and talk to some random reception girl and tell her you need to see the doctor..."What's the purpose of the visit?"
Those kinds of things just put too many obstacles and hoops for people to jump through and makes them uneasy.
The test should be over the damn counter. Just like a pregnancy test is. There is NO reason for it not to be.
And yeah, if a person comes up positive...then of course they are going to see a doctor. But at that time they can make that decision for themselves. Hell, if it were me...and I took a self-test in my own home and came up positive...then I would travel to another town and see a doctor there, and lie about where I live and pay in cash to get another test to make sure it wasn't a false positive.
And then I would take a few days to let it all sink in and figure out the next course of action.
The way it is now...it's too expensive, too scary, and too much of a hassle IF the govt. is serious about people getting tested. That's just the way it is.
And hell, look at our own industry...every fucking time someone comes up positive...their names are instantly all over every gossip and message board in the world. That alone is enough to scare the shit out of people about being tested.
Just sayin'...HIV tests should be cheap and readily available for everyone to test and test frequently. I'd be happy if it was a test that I could have in my pocket in a nightclub and have the random whore I'm gonna drill do it with me before we fuck.
Why not?