SENATE HEALTH COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 1982

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: MARCH 20, 1997

      The Senate Health Committee reports favorably Assembly Bill No. 1982 with committee amendments.

      As amended by committee, this bill would require that a woman be tested for syphilis at the time of delivery of a live infant. The bill provides that a sample of blood of the woman or from the umbilical cord of the infant be taken at the time of delivery. Current law provides that a pregnant woman be tested for syphilis at the time of her first medical examination for the pregnancy.

      The bill also repeals N.J.S.A.37:1-20 through N.J.S.A.37:1-26 which requires a blood test for syphilis before a couple can obtain a marriage license. The reasons which support the repeal of these sections include the fact that syphilis has a three month incubation period during which time a test can give a false reading.

      The provisions of this bill will protect newborn infants from the effects of syphilis and will ensure that infants born with syphilis are diagnosed and treated promptly.

      The committee amended the bill to add the requirement that the mother's blood or blood from the infant's umbilical cord be tested for syphilis at the time of delivery of a live infant.