2018 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 19a - Public Health and Well-Being
Chapter 368a - Department of Public Health
Section 19a-90 - (Formerly Sec. 19-47). Blood testing of pregnant women for syphilis and HIV.
(a) A health care provider giving prenatal care to a pregnant woman in this state during gestation shall order a blood sample of such woman for each of the following serological tests: (1) Not later than thirty days after the date of the first prenatal examination, a serological test for HIV and syphilis; (2) not later than twenty-eight to thirty-two weeks of gestation, a serological test for syphilis; (3) not later than thirty-two to thirty-six weeks of gestation, a serological test for HIV; and (4) at the time of delivery, a serological test for HIV and syphilis, provided the woman presents to labor and delivery without documentation of the required serological testing prescribed under subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection. No pregnant woman shall be subject to serological testing more than once during each of the time frames outlined in subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive. A pregnant woman’s consent to the HIV-related test, as defined in section 19a-581, shall be consistent with the consent given for the HIV-related test prescribed under section 19a-582. The laboratory tests required by this section shall be made on request without charge by the Department of Public Health. For purposes of this subsection, “health care provider” means a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 370, advanced practice registered nurse licensed pursuant to chapter 378, physician assistant licensed pursuant to chapter 370 or nurse midwife licensed pursuant to chapter 377.
(b) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any woman who objects to a blood test as being in conflict with her religious tenets and practices.
(1949 Rev., S. 3836; P.A. 77-614, S. 323, 610; P.A. 79-39; P.A. 90-13, S. 3; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2, S. 31; P.A. 17-6, S. 1; 17-146, S. 42.)
History: P.A. 77-614 replaced department of health with department of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 79-39 simplified language and required blood sample taken during final trimester of pregnancy; Sec. 19-47 transferred to Sec. 19a-90 in 1983; P.A. 90-13 amended Subsec. (a) to specify that the test during the final trimester be done between the twenty-sixth and twenty-eighth week of gestation and added Subsec. (b); P.A. 93-381 replaced department of health services with department of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 99-2 added HIV-related test requirement in Subsec. (a); P.A. 17-6 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing “each physician” with “a health care provider”, replacing provisions re time and frequency of serological testing with provisions re same, adding a definition of “health care provider” and making technical changes, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 17-146 amended Subsec. (a) by replacing reference to Ch. 372 with reference to Ch. 377 re definition of health care provider, effective July 1, 2017.
