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Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns' DNA
Health Council, Congressman Ron Paul warn new law could
pave the way for a national DNA database
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President Bush last week signed into law a bill which will see
the federal government begin to screen the DNA of all newborn
babies in the U.S. within six months, a move critics have described
as the first step towards the establishment of a national DNA
database.
Described as a "national contingency plan"
the justification for the new
law S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves
Lives Act of 2007, is that it represents preparation for
any sort of "public health emergency."
The bill states that the federal government should
"continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in
newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse
of current information on newborn screening... ensuring that the
clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least
quarterly".
Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA
may be used in genetic experiments and tests.
Read the full bill here.
One health care expert and prominent critic of DNA
screening is Twila Brase, president
of the Citizens' Council on Health Care who has written
a detailed
analysis (PDF) of the new law in which she warns
that it represents the first program of populationwide genetic
testing.
Brase states that S.1858 and H.R. 3825, the House
version of the bill, will:
- Establish a national list of genetic conditions for which
newborns and children are to be tested.
- Establish protocols for the linking and sharing of genetic
test results nationwide.
- Build surveillance systems for tracking the health status
and health outcomes of individuals diagnosed at birth with a
genetic defect or trait.
- Use the newborn screening program as an opportunity for government
agencies to identify, list, and study "secondary conditions"
of individuals and their families.
- Subject citizens to genetic research without their knowledge
or consent.
(Article continues below)
"Soon, under this bill, the DNA of all citizens
will be housed in government genomic biobanks and considered governmental
property for government research," Brase
writes. "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen
is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes
a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research."
"The public is clueless. S. 1858 imposes a
federal agenda of DNA databanking and population-wide genetic
research. It does not require consent and there are no requirements
to fully inform parents about the warehousing of their child's
DNA for the purpose of genetic research."
In a previous
report we outlined the consequences of the already
existing DNA warehousing operation in Minnesota, a program that
the Citizens' Council on Health Care has been following closely
for a number of years.
Ms. Brase explained in a statement
last month that state Health Department officials are now seeking
exemption for the so called "DNA Warehouse" from Minnesota
privacy law. This would enable state officials to continue to
take the DNA of newborn infants without consent, which would also
set the precedent for nationwide policy on DNA screening.
DNA of newborns has already been harvested, tested,
stored and experimented with nationwide.
The
National Conference of State Legislatures lists for
all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, the various
statutes or regulatory provisions under which newborns' DNA is
already being collected.
In addition, all 50 states are now routinely providing
these results to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007
merely establishes this practice within the law.
Another vocal critic of bill S. 1858 is Texas Congressman
Ron Paul who made the following comments before the U.S. House
of Representatives:
"I cannot support legislation, no matter how
much I sympathize with the legislation’s stated goals, that
exceed the Constitutional limitations on federal power or in any
way threatens the liberty of the American people. Since S. 1858
violates the Constitution, and may have untended consequences
that will weaken the American health care system and further erode
medical privacy, I must oppose it."
Paul, a medical doctor himself continued, "S. 1858 gives
the federal bureaucracy the authority to develop a model newborn
screening program. Madame Speaker the federal government lacks
both the constitutional authority and the competence to develop
a newborn screening program adequate for a nation as large and
diverse as the United States. …"
"Those of us in the medical profession should be particularly
concerned about policies allowing government officials and state-favored
interests to access our medical records without our consent …
My review of S. 1858 indicates the drafters of the legislation
made no effort to ensure these newborn screening programs do not
violate the privacy rights of parents and children," Paul
continued.
"In fact, by directing federal bureaucrats to create a contingency
plan for newborn screening in the event of a 'public health' disaster,
this bill may lead to further erosions of medical privacy. As
recent history so eloquently illustrates, politicians are more
than willing to take, and people are more than willing to cede,
liberty during times of 'emergency," he concluded.
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