The Newborn Metabolic Screening Program.
It's all in the name, if they had called it what it really is - Newborn DNA database collection program, how many parents would choose to co-operate?

The first misuse of the trust placed in the metabolic screening program has already happened in that they have made an issue of it and want to change access and use of it.

The first emerging problem with these things is that someone is pushing for it which means that parents will be "sold" the concept which doesn't make for informed unbiased parental approval.
The next problem is with the way in which this kind of information can be used`and who may be able to gain access to it.

The most important factor is the invasive nature of the test, when the skin of a newborn is broken in an environment that has far more risk of other disease being contracted than most other environments, this can present other ramifications of equal if not more danger to an innocent child.

I doubt very much that parents will be verbally made aware of this side of it as they would undoubtedly be verbally made aware of the so called "risks of not screening".

The idea that the medical fraternity should treat new born babies as potential guinea pigs is abhorrent, the "unproven" end not justifying the means. If mainstream medicine wishes to maintain its' credibility it needs to distance itself from those that wish to change the present format.

Here we are in a time where some are calling for total non violence towards children and you aim to draw blood on a totally defenseless baby, then use the consent of the parent to absolve yourselves from any wrongdoing.

It appears that the designers of this artifice have already made up their minds that this will happen, where is the freedom of choice there?

Correct consultation would have started before a brochure outlining the process was even considered, we seemed to have missed a step here.

There is no clear evidence that any early intervention of this nature offers a cure for the metabolic disorders that are scanned for, it is in no way helping anyones children to share any information gathered from these tests with anyone other than registered health representatives.

The inevitable misuse of these cards will happen, DNA on every child in New Zealand will be available for anyone with the power to obtain and use it, this will not serve the best interests of children nor protect the privacy of any New Zealander.

If test subjects are needed this should be strictly voluntary, further to this, if blood spot cards are to be used at all they should be destroyed as soon as they have been used for screening, and the law should provide some measure of protection against spot card use for other purposes such as DNA identification.
This complete process needs to be reassessed from, if nothing else, a human rights perspective.

Here is the link to their questionnaire, you can find out for yourself what their real intentions for the bloodspot screening data is.
Newborn Metabolic screening has been used for a long time now, does it not strike you as a little bit suspicious that they now want to alter the terms in which it has been used in the past to include use of the data collected by police and other agencies as those in power see fit?

They want your childrens' blood and DNA to be accessible through this process for purposes other than screening for metabolic disorders, I personally find very dishonest when the trust parents placed in the screening program is being exploited for reasons other than those it was first intended.

If you wish to protect your children's rights, go to their site and voice your opinion, say no to their proposals, the more people and organizations that have access to this data the greater the chance of the information being misused for such things as commercial profiling or state control which could make your child and your childs' children the focus of unwanted and unnecessary attention or exploitation through misuse of DNA data.

Someday in the future someones' child will be setup, how easy it is to plant DNA evidence, how easy it would be to plant it whilst your child happened to be walking alone on a beach somewhere with no collaborating proof.

Someday in the future someones' child will be singled out for some reason other than their own best interests because of DNA taken from the metabolic screening program. Agreement to these changes is tantamount to agreeing to your child being a guinea pig for whoever manages to procure the data.

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