2008-02-27T14:06:57Z opencongress.org tag:opencongress.org,2007:/bill/comments/45407 2008-02-27T14:06:57Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-02-27:/comment/1371 Anonymous It is imperative that the House pass this bill. Newborn screening does not receive a proper amount of press coverage, but it is an extremely important issue. With a simple heel prick, a baby can be screened for a host of disorders. Many of these disorders have devastating consequences if not diagnosed as quickly as possible. I encourage everyone to encourage their representative to provide for a speedy passage of this bill through the House. 2008-07-29T17:55:55Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-07-29:/comment/36757 Anonymous Valentine's mother, I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Were you not aware that testing was an option for you? I just had a home birth and my midwife offered genetic testing, which we did. I firmly believe it should always be a parent's right to test or to choose not to test. The upsetting part of this bill is, first, that it's for ALL newborns and, second, that there will be an Internet database to track each and every newborn and their treatment, etc. Furthermore, I'm also confused as to how this was passed via "suspension of the rules" to forego the usual procedure and time for investigating and arguments. I really appreciated Ron Paul's letter regarding this bill. I didn't know much about Paul, but his letter, as a medical professional, was telling. 2008-07-22T02:53:54Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-07-22:/comment/35588 Anonymous I am a mother who just had a baby Valentines Day 2008, the hospital did not test for a heritable disorder...My newborn was released from the hospital, and returned within two days with brain damage. He had to have a double blood transfusion and two weeks in the NICU. This was very preventable, now my life has been drastically changed and my son has lost hearing, and is being rehabilitated by P.T., O.T., Neurologist, Hemotologist, E.N.T, Pediatrician and a who host of others. The Regional center is spending a grip of money on a very preventable situation...I am very happy for this bill it will save lots of money and many more kids lives. 2008-05-23T13:59:21Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-23:/comment/17564 Anonymous Oh, yeah...and that's how they will be screened. DNA. 2008-05-23T13:43:20Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-23:/comment/17559 Anonymous My ob/gyn, my son's pedi and I can take care of his health/medical needs. There's no need for anyone else to be involved without parental consent. As for it being mandatory, "...that include the heritable disorders that have the potential to significantly impact public health for which all newborns should be screened." for starters. I don't have the time (at this moment) to read back through. Although, the fact that parents don't need to be informed or give consent is a big clue. 2008-05-23T13:56:43Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-23:/comment/17563 Anonymous I'm heading out the door, but quickly scanned another section which reads "...which shall include the screening of each newborn for the heritable disorders recommended by the Advisory Committee and adopted by the Secretary." 2008-05-22T13:25:27Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-22:/comment/17193 Anonymous Absolutely agree that the government should not be able to take my kids DNA without my knowledge and consent. Also, neither myself or the kids should be punished in any way for not participating. 2008-05-22T13:31:28Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-22:/comment/17197 Anonymous Rereading the entire bill, I do not see any provision for MANDATING screening. It is simply providing grants for organizations to enable this kind of screening.If someone has proof that his bill actually requires DNA screening on all newborns, then please post the reference to that section of the bill here. 2008-05-14T08:48:55Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-14:/comment/14671 Anonymous Fine, then make screening universally available but NOT required. And the database the same. The government is not entitled to my child's genetic information. While I may offer it up as a courtesy, this is still a democracy...at least I thought it was. 2008-05-05T15:20:47Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-05:/comment/12766 Anonymous /\ Must be working for the government. If there is a way to misuse it, they will. They always have. 2008-05-02T13:32:49Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-02:/comment/12044 Anonymous WOW, even newborn screening brings out the conspiracy theorists. This has nothing to do with socialized medicine or creating DNA weapons... it has everything to do with saving valuable time in diagnosing catastrophic and terminal illnesses. My daughter was diagnosed with NKH, so this bill will not benefit us in anyway. However, it will benefit many, many Americans - - even the conspiracy theorists. 2008-04-16T14:34:51Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-04-16:/comment/6264 Anonymous This is a horrible bill that will most likely be used to ration medical care if we continue down the path of socialized medicine. Government has no business making our health care decisions. 2008-04-11T03:05:46Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-04-11:/comment/5076 revolutionrising This is bill is unconstitutional and an infringement on our rights. The bill will create a DNA database that the government can use to frame citizens for crimes, track citizens, and create bio-weapons specific to certain DNA sequences. This is simply wrong. 2008-04-07T16:56:32Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-04-07:/comment/4347 mcoletti My niece in NC has recently had a baby who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Had it not been for the routine diagnostic screening performed in her state, her baby could easily have been the victim of a totally preventable crib death (a frequent consequence of this type of disorder when it is undiagnosed). Instead this baby has a chance at a healthy life. 2008-05-09T09:13:28Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-05-09:/comment/13636 Anonymous Health Screenings like the one your niece had have been available for sometime. Parents can consent or reject these tests. Medical tests should never be mandated by the government. That is between a patient and doctor. And medical records should not be available to the government without consent or warrant. 2008-06-23T07:17:00Z tag:opencongress.org,2008-06-23:/comment/27637 Anonymous From the "Project for a New American Century" Advanced forms of biological weapons that can target specfic genotypes may transform biological warfare from a realm of terror to a political useful tool. These are the type of people that are now running your government. Are you willing to trust these people with your childrens DNA? The authors of the above include Paul Wolfowitz and "Scooter" Libby.