Bush Signs Bill To Take All Newborns’ DNA

President Bush In may 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.

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 of the new law in which she warns that it represents the first program of population wide 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 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 erosion's 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.

By; Steve Watson
Infowars.net
Friday, May 2, 2008


CandyO says read THIS IS THE BILL THAT IS LAW..
S. 1858:
110th Congress

This is a bill in the U.S. Congress originating in the Senate ("S."). A bill must be passed by both the Senate and House and then be signed by the President before it becomes law.

Bill numbers restart from 1 every two years. Each two-year cycle is called a session of Congress. This bill was created in the 110th Congress, in 2007-2008.

The titles of bills are written by the bill's sponsor and are a part of the legislation itself. GovTrack does not editorialize bill summaries.
2007-2008

Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007

A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to provide for education and outreach on newborn screening and coordinated followup care once newborn screening has been conducted, to reauthorize programs under part A of title XI of such Act, and for other purposes.
This bill became law.
Last Action:Apr 24, 2008: Became Public Law No: 110-204.

Related:

See the Related Legislation page for other bills related to this one and a list of subject terms that have been applied to this bill. Sometimes the text of one bill or resolution is incorporated into another, and in those cases the original bill or resolution, as it would appear here, would seem to be abandoned.
Sen. Christopher Dodd [D-CT]show cosponsors (21)
Cosponsors [as of 2008-11-07]
Sen. Daniel Inouye [D-HI]
Sen. Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]
Sen. Susan Collins [R-ME]
Sen. Richard Lugar [R-IN]
Sen. Benjamin Cardin [D-MD]
Sen. Edward Kennedy [D-MA]
Sen. Maria Cantwell [D-WA]
Sen. Orrin Hatch [R-UT]
Sen. Norm Coleman [R-MN]
Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]
Sen. Barbara Mikulski [D-MD]
Sen. Blanche Lincoln [D-AR]
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse [D-RI]
Sen. Thomas Harkin [D-IA]
Sen. Sherrod Brown [D-OH]
Sen. Christopher Bond [R-MO]
Sen. Hillary Clinton [D-NY]
Sen. Robert Casey [D-PA]
Sen. Patty Murray [D-WA]
Sen. Bernard Sanders [I-VT]
Sen. Tim Johnson [D-SD]
Co sponsorship information sometimes is out of date. Why?
Text:
Summary | Full Text
Cost:
less than $1 per American in 2008.

This is computed from a Congressional Budget Office report, merely by dividing the estimated cost of $11,000,000 by the U.S. population. The figure is extracted from the report automatically and may be incorrect. See the report for details.
Status:

Occurred: Introduced Jul 23, 2007
Occurred: Referred to Committee View Committee Assignments
Occurred: Reported by Committee Nov 14, 2007
Occurred: Amendments (1 proposed) View Amendments
Occurred: Passed Senate Dec 13, 2007
Occurred: Passed House Apr 8, 2008
Occurred: Signed by President Apr 24, 2008
This bill became law.

S.1858
Title: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to establish grant programs to provide for education and outreach on newborn screening and coordinated followup care once newborn screening has been conducted, to reauthorize programs under part A of title XI of such Act, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] (introduced 7/23/2007) Cosponsors (21)
Related Bills: H.R.3825, H.R.5919, S.CON.RES.76, S.634
Latest Major Action: Became Public Law No: 110-204 [GPO: Text, PDF]
Senate Reports: 110-280

CandyO says ; also to me this is right in step to the New World Order. The genocide of Americans. Don't allow your DNA to be put into a data base!!!!