Fw: Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns’ DNA

[Guest guest]

Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns’ DNA

Steve

Infowars.net

Friday, May 2, 2008

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.

" 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 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. "

, 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, "

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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