BUSH SIGNS DEMOCRATS' BILL SETTING UP DNA DATABASE ON ALL NEWBORNS

INFOWARS President Bush signed into law a bill which will see the federal government begin to screen the DNA of all newborn babies in the U.S. within six months, a move critics have described as the first step towards the establishment of a national DNA database. Described as a "national contingency plan" the justification for the new law S. 1858, known as The Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act of 2007, is that it represents preparation for any sort of "public health emergency."

The bill states that the federal government should "continue to carry out, coordinate, and expand research in newborn screening" and "maintain a central clearinghouse of current information on newborn screening… ensuring that the clearinghouse is available on the Internet and is updated at least quarterly". Sections of the bill also make it clear that DNA may be used in genetic experiments and tests.

One health care expert and prominent critic of DNA screening is Twila Brase, president of the Citizens’ Council on Health Care . . . Brase states that . . . the bill, will:

- Establish a national list of genetic conditions for which newborns and children are to be tested.

- Establish protocols for the linking and sharing of genetic test results nationwide.

- Build surveillance systems for tracking the health status and health outcomes of individuals diagnosed at birth with a genetic defect or trait.

- Use the newborn screening program as an opportunity for government agencies to identify, list and study "secondary conditions" of individuals and their families.

- Subject citizens to genetic research without their knowledge or consent.

"Soon, under this bill, the DNA of all citizens will be housed in government genomic biobanks and considered governmental property for government research," Brase writes. "The DNA taken at birth from every citizen is essentially owned by the government, and every citizen becomes a potential subject of government-sponsored genetic research." . . .

Texas Congressman Ron Paul who made the following comments before the U.S. House of Representatives: "I cannot support legislation, no matter how much I sympathize with the legislation’s stated goals, that exceed the constitutional limitations on federal power or in any way threatens the liberty of the American people."