The state Senate Health Committee passed a bill Thursday which would require all pregnant New Jersey women to get tested for HIV.

Under the bill, women would automatically be tested for HIV during pregnancy. If they object, that objection would be required in writing. The new law calls for women to be tested twice, early in the pregnancy and again in the third trimester unless written objection is submitted.

Women?s rights advocates have come out against the bill, saying it violates a mother?s childbearing and medical decision privileges.

Currently, HIV is not included as part of a standard blood test. New Jersey may become the fifth state to require HIV tests during pregnancy.

Erin O'Sullivan says she had the test and says it is a good idea for all pregnant women. "That way the baby has less chance of coming down with the virus," Sullivan said. ?You sign a form and they ask you if you want to be tested, so I just got tested."

If a woman with HIV is treated during her pregnancy, there is only a small chance she will pass the virus to her infant.

The bill will be sent to the full Senate for a vote.