To the Editor.—
Goodman and Cohall1 have provided a valuable survey regarding the adolescent attitude to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.
In their final paragraph, however, they pose a question which I find disturbing, in that it appears to strike at the very root of medical philosophy. How do we respond to the suggestion that 21% of respondents claimed that they would commit suicide if they had a positive human immunodeficiency virus test? Is this a reason not to test, or should one say "Amen, so be it?" We must recognize that this threat is very real but that it nevertheless constitutes emotional blackmail.