diff --git a/collects/net/scribblings/url.scrbl b/collects/net/scribblings/url.scrbl
index 4c7297efbf..26c9322858 100644
--- a/collects/net/scribblings/url.scrbl
+++ b/collects/net/scribblings/url.scrbl
@@ -316,14 +316,17 @@ empty string, or it will be a string matching the following regexp:
 @defproc[(get-pure-port/headers
           [url url?]
           [headers (listof string?) '()]
-          [#:redirections redirections exact-nonnegative-integer? 0])
+          [#:redirections redirections exact-nonnegative-integer? 0]
+          [#:status? status? boolean? #f])
          (values input-port? string?)]{
   This function is an alternative to calling @racket[get-impure-port] and
   @racket[purify-port] when needing to follow redirections.
   
   That is, it does a GET request on @racket[url], follows up to
   @racket[redirections] redirections and returns a port containing
-  the data as well as the headers for the final connection.
+  the data as well as the headers for the final connection. If 
+  @racket[status?] is true, then the status line is included in the
+  result string.
 }
 
 @defproc*[([(call/input-url [URL url?]
diff --git a/collects/net/url.rkt b/collects/net/url.rkt
index 333784185a..aa30803bad 100644
--- a/collects/net/url.rkt
+++ b/collects/net/url.rkt
@@ -216,7 +216,9 @@
            (file://get-pure-port url)]
           [else (url-error "Scheme ~a unsupported" scheme)])))
 
-(define (get-pure-port/headers url [strings '()] #:redirections [redirections 0])
+(define (get-pure-port/headers url [strings '()] 
+                               #:redirections [redirections 0]
+                               #:status? [status? #f])
   (let redirection-loop ([redirections redirections] [url url])
     (define ip
       (http://getpost-impure-port #t url #f strings))
@@ -261,7 +263,9 @@
           (close-input-port ip)))
        (values in-pipe
                (apply string-append (map (λ (x) (string-append x "\r\n"))
-                                         (cons status (reverse headers)))))])))
+                                         (if status?
+                                           (cons status (reverse headers))
+                                           (reverse headers)))))])))
 
 ;; get-pure-port : url [x list (str)] -> in-port
 (define (get-pure-port url [strings '()] #:redirections [redirections 0])
@@ -700,7 +704,7 @@
  (put-impure-port (->* (url? bytes?) ((listof string?)) input-port?))
  (display-pure-port (input-port? . -> . void?))
  (purify-port (input-port? . -> . string?))
- (get-pure-port/headers (->* (url?) ((listof string?) #:redirections exact-nonnegative-integer?) 
+ (get-pure-port/headers (->* (url?) ((listof string?) #:redirections exact-nonnegative-integer? #:status? boolean?) 
                              (values input-port? string?)))
  (netscape/string->url (string? . -> . url?))
  (call/input-url (case-> (-> url?