AIDS: Political Medicine

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Attorney General Edwin Meese called the plan reasonable and compassionate, but civil libertarians and many scientists assailed it as political gamesmanship. At issue are new Government regulations that require AIDS testing of some federal prisoners and all aliens seeking to live in the U.S. Immigrants who test positive will be denied residency. For convicts, the tests will be administered on entering the federal prison system and 60 days prior to release. Parole officers will be informed of positive results. The new regulations are the outgrowth of President Reagan's policy speech on AIDS two weeks ago. Less successful is Reagan's call for states to require testing for couples seeking marriage licenses; health officials remain skeptical in such AIDS-afflicted states as New York, New Jersey and California.