                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ROUTINE COMPONENT OF PRENATAL CARE (§ 54.1-2403.01)

A. As a routine component of prenatal care, every practitioner licensed pursuant
to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate
licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such
practice, shall inform every pregnant woman who is his patient that human
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening is recommended for all pregnant patients
and that she will receive an HIV test as part of the routine panel of prenatal
tests unless she declines (opt-out screening). The practitioner shall offer the
pregnant woman oral or written information that includes an explanation of HIV
infection, a description of interventions that can reduce HIV transmission from
mother to infant, and the meaning of positive and negative test results. The
confidentiality provisions of &#xA7; 32.1-36.1, test result disclosure
conditions, and appropriate counseling requirements of &#xA7; 32.1-37.2 shall
apply to any HIV testing conducted pursuant to this section. Practitioners shall
counsel all pregnant women with HIV-positive test results about the dangers to
the fetus and the advisability of receiving treatment in accordance with the
then current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for
HIV-positive pregnant women. Any pregnant woman shall have the right to refuse
testing for HIV infection and any recommended treatment. Documentation of such
refusal shall be maintained in the patient&#8217;s medical record.

B. As a routine component of prenatal care, every practitioner licensed pursuant
to this subtitle who renders prenatal care, including any holder of a multistate
licensure privilege to practice nursing, regardless of the site of such
practice, upon receipt of a positive test result from a prenatal test for Down
syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions performed on a patient, the
health care provider involved may provide the patient with information about the
Virginia Department of Health genetics program website and shall provide the
patient with up-to-date, scientific written information concerning the life
expectancy, clinical course, and intellectual and functional development and
treatment options for an unborn child diagnosed with or child born with Down
syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions. He may also provide a
referral to support services providers, including information hotlines specific
to Down syndrome or other prenatally diagnosed conditions, resource centers or
clearinghouses, and other education and support programs. For the purposes of
this section, &#8220;prenatally diagnosed condition&#8221; means any fetal
health condition identified by prenatal genetic testing or prenatal screening
procedures.

HISTORY: 1995, c. 309; 2004, c. 49; 2007, cc. 780, 822; 2008, c. 641.