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Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Ind. Law - More on "The government has your baby's DNA "
Updating this ILB entry from Saturday, Feb. 6th, USA Today has a long story today headed "Debate over blood samples from babies." It begins:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. — is facing an ethics attack.After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve newborn screening and to study bigger questions, like which environmental toxins can harm a fetus' developing heart or which genes trigger childhood cancers.
But seldom are parents asked to consent to such research — most probably do not know it occurs — raising privacy concerns that are shaking up one of public health's most successful programs. Texas is poised to throw away blood samples from more than 5 million babies to settle a lawsuit from parents angry at what they call secret DNA warehousing. A judge recently dismissed a similar lawsuit in Minnesota.
Michigan just moved 4 million leftover blood spots into a new "BioTrust for Health," planning a public education campaign about the research potential and how families can opt out.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 9, 2010 08:18 AM
Posted to Indiana Law