T

he capital now issues certificates for aspiring brides and bridegrooms, stating that their basic health status has been checked — but officials hastily claimed the newly enforced regulation on the “marriage-eligibility certificates” is not meant to hamper marriages if the aspiring couples do not have a clean bill of health. Neither the health tests nor counseling are mandatory, but only “highly encouraged”, Jakarta Health Agency head Widhiastuti said.

The certificates say they are to be used to request reference letters from the subdistrict office for marriage purposes, which are required by religious affairs or civil registrar officials entrusted to conduct unions. The back of the certificates lists that the individual has, among other things, had his or her blood tested and been checked for sexually transmitted diseases, HIV and hepatitis, without going into detail.

The 2017 regulation is aimed at helping map disease prevalence and to control the spread of contagious and genetic diseases; the health tests and counseling are free and facilitated by the municipality, the agency head said.

Thus, a woman diagnosed with anemia would be referred for treatment before pregnancy, for instance. Persons with a potentially communicable or genetic disease would know the risks of establishing a family and could be guided to prevent transmitting their conditions to their offspring.

Like prenuptial agreements, premarital health tests are far from common here, even though they are intended for couples to be informed of their health status and to be able to gain therapy or treatment where needed. Encouraging health tests and counseling is indeed the right approach, instead of making them mandatory.

Even so, the municipality still needs to clear up confusion and anxieties. Among others, would subdistrict heads reject issuing the required letters for marriage if couples cannot produce their health tests? More worrying seems to be the lack of confidence that people’s health status would not leak out to anyone beyond themselves, including to nosy relatives. Without such guarantees, few would seek the certificates, in fear of their privacy being violated, apart from the potential obstructions to marriage.

Furthermore, while the regulation looks good on paper, it seems to assume all health facilities have adequately trained staff for counseling. If health tests reveal a couple would have difficulty having children, or face the prospect of transmitting a genetic disease, deeply empathetic counselors would be needed for such couples.

This obviously requires skills not only in medicine but also in psychology and communications, not for a few sessions but for the long term. Although the regulation was issued in 2017, preparations for its enforcement have not been convincing.

We appreciate the city government’s initiative to raise awareness of prenuptial health tests and provide the necessary facilities. Continuing to encourage the premarital health tests while improving health and counseling services nevertheless remains the administration’s biggest task.

Such visible efforts for residents entering a new chapter of their lives would increase trust in the government as it seeks to gain more comprehensive data to improve public health.