"There will be a civil libertarian argument against it," said state Sen. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), a doctor. "But from the standpoint of proper epidemiology and public health policy, it should be required."
Dozens of Michigan babies are born each year with the virus that causes AIDS. Medical experts say 25 percent to 33 percent of all babies born to HIV-infected moms will develop the virus.
Dr. Hassan Amirikia of Hutzel Hospital in Detroit, who is treating eight pregnant HIV-positive women through a federal grant, said the tests for moms and infants should be required.
"It's important we treat both mother and child for this disease as soon as possible," he said.
Michigan law currently requires only that physicians offer HIV tests to pregnant women, The Detroit News reported.
Randall Pope, the state Depart-ment of Community Health's HIV/ AIDS coordinator, said that law is enough.
He said HIV testing would cost the state millions and that pediatric AIDS isn't as rampant in Michigan as it is in New York.
"And it really makes no sense to test newborns because by then the horse is already out the barn," he said.
Dr. Theodore Jones, a high-risk pregnancy specialist at Hutzel, said forcing women to get a test would erode the relationship between doctors and their patients.
"The consensus is that mandatory counseling of women about their risks for HIV infection, and what we can do to reduce those risks, is the best way," he told The News.