Newborn Screening (H 6108, S 200)

ACLU legislation was successfully enacted to clarify existing law about screening newborns for illnesses.  In 2008, the General Assembly passed a broad-based law allowing doctors to test newborns not only for disorders which are treatable in early childhood and for which there is a benefit to early detection, but also for any and all “other conditions.”  The language allowed for genetic testing for diseases which a baby could be predisposed to but never contract.  This new legislation keeps newborn screening focused on diseases which are treatable in childhood.