Testing for the AIDS virus is a politically charged issue that juxtaposes the right to privacy against the safety of the public health. AIDS activists argue that due to the stigma associated with AIDS, all testing should be voluntary and confidential, while some public health workers maintain that testing should be mandatory for everyone who is at risk. Other proponents of mandatory testing go even further, demanding that accused rapists be added to the list of those who should be tested for HIV.

Proponents of mandatory testing for accused rapists contend that a woman has the right to know if she has been exposed to HIV by her rapist. They concede that HIV testing impinges on the rights of accused rapists, but insist the intrusion is justified. According to Susan Molinari, a former congresswoman from New York, the Constitution...