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Urge NO Vote TODAY on HR 1281 - Unconsented Baby DNA Research that Can End Up in Common Core Database

June, 2014

Karen R. Effrem, MD - FSCCC Executive Director & President of Education Liberty Watch

Today, June 24th, the US House is expected to vote on HR 1281, Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reauthorization Act of 2014 (H.R.1281), which would extend for five years the funding program that allows states to collect and store newborn DNA without parental consent. Analysis by great expert on and champion  of medical freedom and privacy, Twila Brase of Citizens Council for Health Freedom warns that this bill has many problems which are detailed in her alert:
1) No Consent Requirement.
2) Long-Term Surveillance.
3) Nationalized Newborn Screening.
4) Intrusive Labeling, Profiling and Sharing. 
5) Genetic Research on Newborns.
6) Genetic Testing of Newborns for Conditions Not Yet Determined Appropriate for Newborn Screening.
7) $99.5 Million Price Tag.

The reason FSCCC is so concerned about this bill is because there is already at least one state program in place that is linking this newborn genetic data to early childhood and K-12 databases being implemented through the Race to the Top and Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge and linked to the Common Core standards and related tests.  Rhode Island said the following in their Early Learning Challenge grant application:
 
"Rhode Island's proposed early learning data system will be linked to both the state's K-12 data system and to the state's universal newborn screening and health data system, helping to identify children with high needs, track participation in programs, and track children's development and learning."
 
The cradle to grave federal educational control is discussed in an Education Liberty Watch article about the Early Learning Challenge program.  Rhode Island's program was also discussed and highlighted at the National Center for Education Statistics national data conference in Washington DC last summer detailed in this report.

PLEASE call your own US House member TODAY and ask them to vote NO on this very dangerous bill.  We join CCHF in opposition because "it strips parents of initial right of consent, grants default ownership of newborn genetic code to the state and empowers the government to conduct long-term surveillance of newborns into adolescence." In addition, FSCCC opposes this bill for its potential to add genetic data to Common Core linked databases as is occurring in Rhode Island. 


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