Sponsored by Senator Lauren Book, new mother of twins
Legislation sponsored by Senator Lauren Book (D-Plantation) ensuring that babies born in Florida will undergo critical newborn screenings for specified diseases was signed into law today by Governor Rick Scott.
Senate Bill 1124 will ensure that newborns are tested for every disease on the Federal Recommended Uniform Screening Program. The testing, done via blood draw in the hospital shortly after birth, will allow diseases to be detected that would otherwise be missed until life-threatening symptoms present themselves.
The Bill passed the Senate unanimously.
“As medicine, medical testing and medical treatments advance, we are able to do more than ever before to help ensure the health and wellbeing of all – beginning with a simple heel prick after birth,” Senator Book said. “Babies born in Florida will now be tested for every disease on the Federal Recommended Uniform Screening Program (RUSP). Knowing the results of these tests is critical to families facing an illness, ensuring that they have every opportunity to put appropriate, and often life-saving, treatment protocols in place. Thanks to the support of my peers in the Legislature and Governor Rick Scott, this bill – which is now law – will do just that, helping families and medical professionals give babies the healthiest possible start.”
Senator Book was compelled to sponsor the legislation upon hearing touching and tragic stories from families across the state about the dire consequences a late diagnosis can bring – many having lost a child to an illness that could have been treated with early detection through newborn screenings.
“No family should have to go through the heartbreak of losing a child to a treatable illness,” Senator Book said.
