Another less than uplifting development from the home of the free. President Bush recently signed a bill giving the Federal government the power to screen the DNA of all newborns in the US and then database the results.
Supporters of the legislation say that it represents the best possible precaution against any future public health emergency. And that, they may indeed, sincerely believe. But does it not occur to them that legislation with the potential for authoritarian exploitation introduced for a seemingly benign purpose can, and more likely will, be later used for malign purposes? Has living for the present become such an obsession that politicians have lost the ability to think two or three steps down the line? Or do they just not give a toss?
At least the American legislature contains people such as Texas Congressman Ron Paul (a long-time critic of state encroachment into areas it should keep its nose out of), who said:
“I cannot support legislation, no matter how much I sympathize with the legislation’s stated goals, that exceed the Constitutional limitations on federal power or in any way threatens the liberty of the American people. Since S. 1858 violates the Constitution, and may have untended consequences that will weaken the American health care system and further erode medical privacy, I must oppose it.”
Difficult to imagine a Labour backbencher making a similar stand against repressive government legislation in the UK.
And difficult also to imagine that a similar Act will not be proposed in the UK at some point in the mid future. After all, one Labour MP has already said that all babies should be barcoded at birth.
