Mandatory Gene testing for Newborns!

BRAVE NEW WORLD ON THE MOVE

OCTOBER 28, 2004. Mandatory gene testing for newborn babies...states adopting laws...NY expands its program...from the AP dispatch below, it appears that parents have no choice in the matter...have a baby in a hospital, the test is done...

What about the Science behind this coercive program?

It stinks. The word GENE has become a code symbol for "we know what we're doing, we're linking diseases to specific genes, we've done the studies..."

If you can find an old out-of-print book, NOT IN OUR GENES, grab it and read it. It details the fake Science and the bald assumptions dressed up like empirical findings.

Remember the human genome project? It claimed to have identified the whole gene structure of humans. But the sheer number of genes it found was so low that it set researchers back on their heels. In other words, the bizarre dream of tying so many diseases and traits and behaviors to specific genes---one to one---was seen to be impossible. There were just too many functions to assign to the very low number of genes discovered.

But none of this has stopped the partnership of government and research. It's a gravy train, and the people involved have no intention of stepping off.

And it sounds good. The PR campaign has worked. "We thought it was all about germs, and it is, but at a much deeper level it's all about genes." "You must have good genes, you look so young." "These athletes have great genes." "Hey, beyond a certain point, life is all about what genes you have." "My brother never gets sick, no matter what. It's his genes." "We went to the genius sperm bank to conceive. We can afford it, and who would pass up a chance to have a high-IQ child?"

It's all leaked down into the culture, and people feel a bit smarter when they talk about genes to explain otherwise incomprehensible (to them) situations.

Of course, you can run all this back to the eugenics program in Nazi Germany, and before that, in America. "Let's create a better race." "Let's get rid of the useless eaters and their inferior gene pool." "Let's wipe out all those ugly people."

The current propaganda is given a more humane face. "All we want to do is cure diseases and save parents endless heartbreak."

Then there are the treatments. Many people hold the vague belief that, once you ID the offending gene that causes a disease, you insert a better version of that gene. This has not panned out. So the fall-back position is, you guessed it, drugs. "We can help manage the disease, now that we've discovered the genetic flaw..."

It's smoke and mirrors.

We've seen this technology in the area of genetically engineered foods. One of the many problems is, you end up creating a kind of monoculture of plants. The robust, diverse, cross-hatched, long-term coupling of plants in nature is short-circuited on behalf of seeds that, for example, contain genes that are supposed to rebuff a specific insect pest. When most of the plants of a given crop then become identical, a weakness develops. Immune to a particular pest, the new plants can't fight off others that were formely no problem.

Russian roulette with the future on the line.

Babies to be screened for 44 diseases--more than any other state
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:12 a.m. ET Oct. 28, 2004

ALBANY, N.Y. - Babies born in New York will be tested for 44 genetic diseases — more than any other state — under an expansion of the state’s newborn screening program announced Wednesday.

Infants are currently screened for 11 inherited and sometimes life-threatening disorders including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and phenylketonuria.

Under the expanded program, the number of diseases tested in newborns would quadruple by 2005. Twenty diseases will be added by the end of this year and another 13 in 2005.

Early diagnosis and prompt treatment after birth can prevent mental retardation and other complications later on.

Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota test between 38 to 43 inherited diseases in newborns, according to the National Newborn Screening and Genetics Resource Center.

States pressured to expand infant screening
New York is among several states that use new technology called tandem mass spectrometry, which takes a single drop of blood to screen for at least 20 diseases.

Mandatory testing for genetic diseases in newborns varies greatly by state. Last month, a government advisory committee recommended that states test newborns for 30 rare, inherited diseases.

Several states in recent months have moved to increase the number of newborn screenings. In August, Ohio mandated that babies be tested for 30 genetic disorders, up from 13.

end of AP article

JON RAPPOPORT

www.nomorefakenews.com

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