# question about marriage **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 8, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219 "2001-03-08T13:57:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![reoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@reoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reoch)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/1 "2001-03-08T13:57:02Z")
Alright, this is a pretty weird question, but me and my friend were talking about marriage and eventually we got into this argument about people with AIDS getting married. According to him, he said that you needed to get a blood test before you get married to confirm you don’t have any AIDS of STDs…and if his/her partner did, they wouldn’t be allowed to be married. So basically, I just wanna ask you folks if you ever heard of required test for AIDS or STDs… and if a person with AIDS is not allowed to marry another without AIDS…THANX I just couldn’t believe what he was saying…it sounded stupid to me. ---
**Author:** ![Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/779978/32.png) [@Zumba\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zumba_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/2 "2001-03-08T13:59:54Z")
I think that it depends on the state. North Carolina use to require a physical before you could get a marriage license. It is no longer required. I am getting married in Vegas in a few months and I know that no blood test is required there either. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/3 "2001-03-08T14:07:23Z")
I got married in Maine, and we didn’t need a physical nor blood test. Just IDs at the Bangor City Hall, $10, and then we just had to get married within 90 days. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/4 "2001-03-08T14:13:12Z")
I got married back in 1977, in Missouri, and my husband-to-be and I DID have to get a blood test for STDs. At that time, AIDS was not known to the general public, and I don’t think that there was a test for it. Even back then, though, there were states that didn’t require the blood test. So. It varies by state, and by time frame. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/5 "2001-03-08T15:52:30Z")
Marriage requirements do indeed vary by state. This [table](http://wwwsecure.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Marriage.htm) summarizes the marriage requirements (including medical testing requirements) for each U.S. State (plus DC and PR). If you are interested in the detailed requirements for your particular state, you can post it and I’ll be glad to look them up for you. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/6 "2001-03-08T15:56:27Z")
Sorry, the table is at: [http://wwwsecure.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table\_Marriage.htm](http://wwwsecure.law.cornell.edu/topics/Table_Marriage.htm) Preview, Preview, Preview ---
**Author:** ![lolagranola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ea5d25/32.png) [@lolagranola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lolagranola)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/7 "2001-03-08T16:38:23Z")
I got married in Alberta, Canada in 1990, and didn’t need a blood test either. Cecil answers the question of blood tests and marriage licenses. [What is the purpose of premarital blood testing?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_193.html). ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/8 "2001-03-08T20:03:46Z")
Virginia does not require a blood test. No law in the nation forbids a marriage between two otherwise eligible person based on their HIV status. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Darqangelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecccb3/32.png) [@Darqangelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darqangelle)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2001, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/9 "2001-03-08T23:37:55Z")
Two friends of mine got married in Canada. She had, he didn’t. They both knew. They both married anyway. She’s gone. He’s moved on. But no problems, regrets, or legal issues ever. …That about sum it up? ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/10 "2001-03-09T00:13:53Z")
reoch, what gave you the impression that a marriage blood test was all about STD’s? There are other reasons for the tests. BTW people with AIDS can marry however they should not have sex, or said to me the guy working at the gov AIDS line. ---
**Author:** ![reoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a9adbd/32.png) [@reoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reoch)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/11 "2001-03-09T00:14:06Z")
Thanx for your help guys…now I can show my friend this page and PROVE to him that he was wrong…I knew it sounded kinda stupid. Thanx again! ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/12 "2001-03-09T00:43:09Z")
A number of states in the South, I believe still have requirements involving blood tests. When I married in the late '80s, my wife and I had to have blood tests. I wondered about this at the time, and I questioned a former governor friend of mine. He said that the blood tests in those states dated back to the days when intermarriage between the races was not permitted. I guess somehow blood tests were supposed to prevent such unions. Beyond me, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/13 "2001-03-09T13:09:15Z")
Ummmmm, reoch, you might want to check out the link in Billdo’s second post. It shows that several states DO require testing for venereal diseases! ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/14 "2001-03-09T17:45:02Z")
handy wrote: > [@](#): > > what gave you the impression that a marriage blood test was all about STD’s? There are other reasons for the tests. I had a blood test before I could get married in Texas in 1983, but shortly thereafter, the requirement was discontinuted specifically because the number of STD cases that they turned up was minimal. I believe that it’s been resumed now that HIV is on the scene. Detecting STD’s is the only reason I’ve ever heard for these tests, other than the apocryphal stories about race testing, which I don’t think is even possible. What reasons are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/15 "2001-03-09T19:56:57Z")
Other reasons could include Rh-typing (the plus or minus that appears after the letter part of your blood type). If a woman is Rh- and her partner is Rh+, there are problems they should be aware of before having children. There was a time when many adults wouldn’t know their blood type and having children before marriage was taboo, so such a test would have made sense then. Now, of course, it’s outdated, but inertia could keep such laws on the books. We needed to get a blood test to get a marriage license - Pennsylvania, 1990. ---
**Author:** ![cptredion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bc79bd/32.png) [@cptredion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cptredion)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/16 "2001-03-10T00:53:13Z")
I believe that the main purpose of the blood test is to verify that you are not marrying a close relative which could lead to birth defects as a result of the similarity of your genes. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/17 "2001-03-10T01:38:43Z")
I thought the blood test would not prevent 2 people from getting married, but only serve to inform each other of certain conditions and let them make up their own mind. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/18 "2001-03-10T03:49:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by cptredion \* > \*\*I believe that the main purpose of the blood test is to verify that you are not marrying a close relative which could lead to birth defects as a result of the similarity of your genes. > \*\* No, that has absolutely nothing to do with it. Any such testing would be quite complicated and expensive. And it wasn’t even possible until recently. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/19 "2001-03-10T04:23:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lynn Bodoni \* > \*\*Ummmmm, reoch, you might want to check out the link in Billdo’s second post. It shows that several states DO require testing for venereal diseases! \*\* Ummmmm, Lynn, you might want to read the OP more carefully. Requiring testing, and refusing a license based on those tests, are very different. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2001, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219/20 "2001-03-10T05:38:54Z")
FWIW, a list of STD’s and how they’re diagnosed: ```auto **Organism Test** Gonorrhea Gram stain of infected material, PCR on infected material* Chlamydia trachomatis Detection of antigens in infected tissue or PCR to detect C. trachomatis genome Ureaplasma urealyticum Culture of infected material Syphilis Dark field examination of infected material, blood test (VDRL,RPR,FTA) Haemophilus ducreyi Culture of infected material C. granulomatis Examination, culture of infected material HIV Blood test for anti-HIV anitbody, HIV antigens, and/or HIV genome Herpes Culture of virus from infected material, microscopic exam of infected material Papillomavirus PCR detection of viral genome in infected material Hepatitis B Blood test for antibodies and antigens Trichomonas vaginalis Microscopic examination of infected material Candida albicans Microscopic examination of infected material ``` \*Techniques designed to detect gonococcal infection by testing of a single serum sample for antibody to N. gonorrhoeae have been limited by an inability to differentiate antibody due to past gonorrhea from antibody due to current infection and by false-positive results caused by cross-reactive antibody to N. meningitidis. For these reasons, serologic tests for gonorrhea have had a very low predictive value and are not used in clinical practice. Anyhow, many STD’s are idenitfied primarily by clinical presentation and examination of **infected material**. In clinical practice, the only STD’s routinely identified by a blood test are syphilis, HIV, and Hepatitis B. To diagnose most STD’s, you gotta go to where the action is. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-marriage/57219.md?page=2)