Why Is No One Talking About This?
November 28, 2005
I spotted this news story over the weekend and can't believe the lack of debate on it:
Under new legislation tacked onto a House crime bill, DNA samples would become as routine as snipped umbilical cords.
The Safe Streets for America bill calls for doctors to do a simple buccal swab for DNA of every infant delivered in a hospital or birthing center. "We are simply asking that as a baby cries, a doctor take a swab from the child's mouth. It is painless, quick, and a sure way to build a comprehensive national DNA databank," said the sponsor of the bill.
The results would be kept in a newly formed Genome Resource Center, jointly managed by the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Justice Department. Law enforcement officers would not have unlimited access to the database, but could apply to a judge for access to it upon showing a reasonable basis to believe a crime had occurred and the DNA database might be "material" in solving the crime.
"This is no invasion of privacy," the bill's sponsor noted. "Adequate safeguards are in place to assure that no one goes rummaging through the database on a lark."
A spokesman for the American Civil Liberities Union cried foul. "This is a shocking invasion of the privacy of each and every American, and is an afront to our liberties," she said.
Others weren't so sure. "Surely, no infant has an expectation of privacy, and procedure contemplated is no more invasive than the cutting of an umbilical chord," saw law professor, Chandra Rafshamundie, a professor of constitutional and intenational law at the newly founded Law School of the Atlantic, in New Jersey.
Administration officials praised the bill. "In years to come, no crime need go unsolved," the president said. Administration officials are considering a call for swabs as a condition of entry into the United States, arguing that it is no more invasive than state implied consent laws requiring motorists to yield to sobriety tests. Also under consideration is swabbing of persons registering to vote and renewing driver's licenses.
Voting on the bill is expected early this week.
Okay, I didn't see this story. But I did wake up wondering how long it would be until this occurred.