S. 634 would 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, and it would reauthorize programs under part A of title XI of the Act.
Detailed Summary
Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to awards grants to eligible entities to: (1) provide education and training in newborn screening and congenital, genetic, and metabolic disorders to health care professionals and newborn screening laboratory personnel; (2) develop educational programs about newborn screening for parents, families, and patient advocacy and support groups; and (3) establish operate a system to assess and coordinate treatment relating to congenital, genetic, and metabolic disorders.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to develop a national contingency plan for newborn screening for use in the event of a public health emergency.
Requires the Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children to: (1) recommend a uniform screening panel for newborn screening programs that includes the heritable disorders for which all newborns should be screened; and (2) develop a model decision-matrix for newborn screening program expansion. Directs the Secretary to adopt or reject recommendations by the Advisory Committee.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of CDC, to: (1) provide for quality assurance for screening laboratories; (2) provide for population-based pilot testing for evaluating new screening tools; (3) collect, analyze, and make available data on certain heritable disorders; and (4) operate regional centers for the conduct of applied epidemiological research on the prevention of such disorders.
Status of the Legislation
Latest Major Action: 2/15/2007: Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Points in Favor
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Points Against
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Visitor Comments
Michael
Why would anyone be opposed to this bill? I've searched the internet and have yet to find any arguments against this bill.
Margo Coletti
My niece in NC has just delivered a baby girl with a rare genetic disorder that was discovered by screening. The early diagnosis will make the difference between a chance at a healthy life and a completely preventable SIDS death. My daughter in FL is about to deliver, and just in time as the state is poised to lose funding for newborn diagnostic screening.
Steve Grover
This bill makes great sense and is even efficient. Sounds like a no-brainer to me.
infowarrior
I can think of one good reason not to be for this bill and that is this I don't like the idea of a government having the DNA of it's citizens. I remember a time that they only took DNA from pedophiles and then it was people convicted of felonies and then it was anyone arrested for a felony and then it was from anyone arrested for any crime and now they will take it from anyone borne you neocon's told me this would never happen and now it has. So I guess I was not paranoid after all. In closing I just want to say you people that support this will get the nightmare world you deserve.
JD
People are way too naive...
Sure, we live in lala land where all governements are full of nice and honest people!
People will blindly trust their politicians until they wake up one day and find themselves in concentration camps.
And that day it will be too late to do anything about it.
Sure, you can do good things with DNA... as you can also do MANY evil things.
Just imagine what dictators, police states, fascist countries could do with a DNA database! They could plant the DNA of an opponent on a crime scene and he would be immediatly decalred guilty. They could track you. Hell, they could clone you in a lab somewhere. Etc...
So, enjoy your sheep's life while you can...
Because, when you're gonna wake up and find out all the powers you gave to your soon to be tyrants, you will only have your eyes left to cry.
MFR
If you forget the past you are doomed to repeat it. Ever hear of eugenics, the perfecting of the races. Imagine Hitler with this information, his aryan race concept would really have taken off. Put this together with National Healthcare and you put control in the governments hands that is terrifying. Imagine a bureaucrat telling you that your disease can't be treated because your genetic makeup disallows it. Have the government assemble a datbase of its population's DNA is okay with you, you probably are more scared of identity theft, your money. Throughout history most people who have died unnatural deaths has been by its government. Just wrap hell with some nice wrapping paper and you fools will skip to your deaths.
Oh here's some nice wrapping paper, "its for the children"
Margo you want to know about the DNA and possible problems, give your daughter a gift of a DNA test for your grandchild, don't give the government this power.