PREMARITAL EXAMINATION LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES

Abstract

With the passage of six new premarital examination laws by 1941 legislatures, thirty states now require that a certificate of examination be presented before marriage licenses may be issued. All of these measures have one objective in common; namely, prevention of the spread of syphilitic infections through the vehicle of marriage. A number of them are aimed also at curbing other venereal diseases, and a few undertake to reduce the incidence of tuberculosis or mental disorders as well. Most of them, however, resemble Connecticut's successful law, adopted by that state in 1935, to the extent of requiring a blood test for syphilis. The diversity of legal and administrative details which characterizes the premarital laws of the various states is not surprising when one considers their separate origin in as many legislatures. In some instances original bills had to be modified to satisfy local opposition. Several states had early but ineffective