HB 438 no longer will declining newborn testing be a misdemeanor
Priscilla Giddings ID Representative 7A sponsored HB 438 that passed unanimously in the House. It’s not done yet. This bill must move onto the Senate to be voted upon before it will be written into the statute.
It is mandatory in Idaho Code that certain newborn screening is performed, including a heel prick to draw blood and submit to a lab within 24 hours of birth. The person responsible for filing a birth certificate (usually a doctor or midwife) is responsible for the testing upon pain of a criminal misdemeanor for not performing the test.
Current law requires questions on the birth certificate to uncover violations, and then the director of IDHW is to report violations to local prosecutors for prosecution.
This seemed heavy-handed, especially for home birthing parents especially those who don’t use a midwife. In the case where a father delivers the child, he would have been guilty of the misdemeanor.
HB 438 removes the misdemeanor penalty from code and removes the IDHW director’s violation reports to prosecutors.
Dozens of volunteers poured over the 8000 pages of rules this summer to find what they could to clear out and clean up the overstep of power the administrative departments. The issue covered by this bill was discovered in the administrative rules review last summer. This is why it is important the citizens watch all aspects of the government process Without your support, Health Freedom Idaho can’t continue its mission to preserve liberty in this state.
