OTTAWA, Jan 6 (LifeSiteNews.com) New guidelines on the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted disease were released by Health Canada on December 17. According to a government press release, the 1998 edition of Canadian STD Guidelines is intended to help physicians and nurses in the prevention and management of sexually transmitted disease (STD) in Canada.
In a section entitled HIV INFECTION IN PREGNANCY, the document encourages medical health professionals to offer HIV testing to all pregnant mothers and then says that those women who are HIV+ “will require counselling concerning pregnancy interruption” (abortion). The guidelines then note that “It is extremely important to explore these issues in a non-judgmental fashion.” However, in further explaining how the pregnant HIV patient should be “fully informed,” the guidelines stress the need to convey the “risk” of choosing not to abort (risk to mother, pregnancy and child), and fail to ensure physicians “fully inform” the patient of the risks of abortion. The document says, “The woman should be fully informed regarding the implications of HIV infection to herself and the effects that it will have on the pregnancy and the risk to the infant.” (pg 198).
Interestingly, in a section entitled PREGNANCY TERMINATION, the document notes that, “Women who have had an abortion are at greater risk of STD.” (pg 190)