All this said, I think it's role is a not to be a "check if someone is clean for sexytime" test (incidentally, probably not a good tagline).
Instead, it's a cheap, easy and effective way to test people (especially pregnant women) so they can begin a medical regime, rather than not having any realistic means to test and risk further spread and health damage.
Your comment sounds like someone saying at the advent of the pill that it was not about enabling promiscuity but about allowing wives to manage their family planning better.
Instead, it's a cheap, easy and effective way to test people (especially pregnant women) so they can begin a medical regime, rather than not having any realistic means to test and risk further spread and health damage.