Lawmakers are thinking of requiring all couples to prove they don't have certain diseases, including STD's, before they can even get a marriage license. The new provision says that if a person has a disease that they can pass on to someone else, they better forget about getting married in the state.
Couples would have to take some tests to prove they don’t have syphilis or other communicable diseases and file the results with the state Board of Health, which isn't making privacy advocates too happy.
“This new law would require you to file with the court clerk the results of this test which the whole world could see,” attorney David Slane told News Channel 6 in Tulsa. “It seems to me that would violate people’s real privacy rights.”
Currently, Oklahomans filing for a marriage license do not have to fill out detailed and personal health information that is considered private under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, a law that protects the confidentiality and security of healthcare information.
If passed, the Oklahoma provision would make public the information now considered private under HIPPA.
Supporters of the proposal say the state should know who has communicable diseases and do what it can to stop them from spreading.
The bill is currently in its very early stages of making its way through the legislative branch.
