Newborn Screening (H 8024, S 2286)

In 2008, the legislature authorized broad-based medical testing of newborns. Rather than being limited to tests for disorders that are treatable in infancy or early childhood and for which there is a medical benefit to early detection, the law authorized non-consensual testing for any “other conditions.” This year, an ACLU bill was introduced to fine-tune the statute, requiring a medical benefit and known treatment before “other conditions” can be screened for. The current language allows all kinds of tests to be performed, including, for example, predictive genetic testing for disorders that a person might be at risk for and develop much later in life. Performing such testing raises profound ethical and civil liberties concerns, and the proposed bill is de-signed to prevent those scenarios from occurring.