The gov't has your baby's DNA - without your consent

[Holly_Hobby]

(CNN) -- When Annie Brown's daughter, Isabel, was a month old, her pediatrician asked Brown and her husband to sit down because he had some bad news to tell them: Isabel carried a gene that put her at risk for cystic fibrosis. While grateful to have the information -- Isabel received further testing and she doesn't have the disease -- the Mankato, Minnesota, couple wondered how the doctor knew about Isabel's genes in the first place. After all, they'd never consented to genetic testing.

It's simple, the pediatrician answered: Newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it's often done without the parents' consent, according to Brad Therrell, director of the National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center. In many states, such as Florida, where Isabel was born, babies' DNA is stored indefinitely, according to the resource center.

Many parents don't realize their baby's DNA is being stored in a government lab, but sometimes when they find out, as the Browns did, they take action. Parents in Texas, and Minnesota have filed lawsuits, and these parents' concerns are sparking a new debate about whether it's appropriate for a baby's genetic blueprint to be in the government's possession.

"We were appalled when we found out," says Brown, who's a registered nurse. "Why do they need to store my baby's DNA indefinitely? Something on there could affect her ability to get a job later on, or get health insurance."

...

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/04/baby.dna.government/index.html?hpt=C1

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Maybe they need the dna to rebuild after Monsanto has altered all our genes

Kind of like a seed bank, or something like that.

[gateley]

4. That's the first thing that went through my mind. nt

[williesgirl]

2. Wow - how long has this been going on? It's criminal. rec'd

[Holly_Hobby]

3. The article says it's been going on since the '60's n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

5. Ahhh.. Yes. I remember seeing something like this on the X-Files, when they tried to get

Scully's file from an insanely large storage area just filled with folders of Americans' info.

[Bluebear]

6. If the baby has nothing to hide, it has nothing to fear.

Thank you, Mr. Bush.

[cbdo2007]

7. Yeah....remember that stack of forms you signed at the hospital right before your baby was borned?

Shoulda read them more carefully.

[Hekate]

8. States can mandate certain kinds of tests to be done automatically on newborns....

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is rare but devastating, and can cause profound retardation. Retardation, seizures, etc. can be prevented by a special strict diet from birth, so the test has to be done in the first few days of life. That test, using urine from a diaper and/or blood from a heel-stick, is now standard across the country.

Usually I come down on the side of testing newborns, because the results can be useful both immediately and down the road -- but then I think the results should reside with the family and their doctor, unless we manage to get the insurance companies OUT of the health care business. HIPA is supposed to protect our medical information -- it definitely should include these tests.

Hekate

[NYC_SKP]

9. I wonder when Monsanto will have it (and the patents on it).... n/t

[zbdent]

10. I want to know what the fee is

to be allowed to have a kid ... edited to add: (it's bound to be higher, if the parents possess the recessive genes for some possible disability, and thus their insurance would also go up ...)

and, also, to custom design one ...

[NYC_SKP]

12. If you don't pay their fee, you'll have to burn down your family, or plow them under. n/t

[Hannah Bell]

11. this is worldwide. & your genetic information can be "privatized" into profits for capital with the

same database -- also without your knowledge or consent.

we're farmstock for them.

like a creepy sci-fi story.

[The Backlash Cometh]

13. How odd.

We can't trace back to who bought a gun six months ago, but they'll know forever our genetic background.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

14. Chemtrails.

Ultrachemtrails.

[dugaresa]

15. there are disorders like PKU that need to be caught very early to treat the child

before harm is done.

There are many parents of children who did not get diagnosed who lobbyied their states and the feds to get this type of testing so that no other parents would suffer like they had.

http://www.medhelp.org/lib/pku.htm

there is a man in our community who was not fortunate enough to get treated for PKU before it was too late.

[robertpaulsen]

16. Love your signature. Made me LOL!

Thanks for the link. I had heard that before, but not from CNN.

:hi: