Thomas, George2019-09-252019-09-252011-03-172009-070975-5691http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/177060"Testing patients for infection with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), before surgery, as a prerequisite for surgery, a practice called “mandatory testing”, is considered ethically unacceptable internationally. In India, the National Aids Control Organisation has advised against this practice. In an article in this issue of the Journal, Sheikh and Porter surveyed five cities in India and found the practice to be widespread (1). Mandatory testing for HIV, and even worse, refusing treatment for patients infected with HIV, are only two of a spectrum of ethical infarctions that occur in the healthcare sector in India. Before going into the general factors that make such ethically wrong practices so widespread in India, it is interesting to examine the background of mandatory testing for HIV, which are so cogently brought out in the present paperengWith permission of the license/copyright holderautonomy of the patienthealth ethicsAIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency SyndromeBioethicsSocial ethicsSexual orientation/genderMedical ethicsHealth ethicsArticle