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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Should birth certificate information be public?

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HealthBeat Baby Blood
A 1-day-old baby boy's heel is pricked for blood during a newborn screening to detect phenylketonuria (PKU) and many other disorders at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. A critical safety net for babies _ that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn _ is facing an ethics attack. States increasingly are storing the leftover blood samples for later medical research, often without parents' knowledge or consent _ prompting lawsuits in two states and work in many others to give parents a greater say. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

A DFL state senator wants to restrict public access to parental contact information listed on birth certificates.

Supporters of the measure say it's aimed at protecting parents from being bombarded with mailings after the birth of a child. But opponents say the measure would put the wraps on information that's been considered public for more than a century.

Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, is sponsoring the measure. She said she’s worried about privacy rights.

“We’re starting to pay much more attention to data collection and how data is used,” Sheran said.

Sheran attached the measure to a broader bill that covers vital statistics. She said she wanted to prevent companies and others from collecting the e-mail, home addresses and phone numbers that parents list on birth certificates.

“The public doesn’t want the government to give out information to people who are selling products or ideas in an area that they didn’t intend,” she said.

Sheran’s amendment would allow researchers, the media and others to continue to access the information on birth certificates.

The effort comes just a month after a group started notifying parents about their ability to opt out of a controversial program run by the Minnesota Department of Health that collects and stores blood samples from newborns. The program tests for 55 rare conditions that could be harmful or fatal if not treated.

“My guess is it isn’t a coincidence. It has to do with our program to notify parents of what’s happening to their babies,” said Twila Brase, executive director of an organization called The Citizen’s Council on Health Freedom.

Brase contends the newborn screening program is invasive because the state can keep the information it collects and could use it for purposes other than screening.

She said she started collecting parental information from birth certificates and notifying parents who delivered children after Aug. 1, 2014, the date the Legislature authorized the Health Department to start collecting the data if parents don't opt out.

The Health Department was forced to destroy 1.1 million newborn screening cards in January of 2014 after losing a court fight to preserve the data. Brase, a longtime advocate of health care privacy, said she’s dismayed that lawmakers support an effort to conceal contact information on birth certificates.

“We consider the violation of a child’s genetic privacy a greater violation than perhaps any other violation of privacy taking place today in this state,” she said.

Brase said several hundred parents have thanked her for notifying them about the ability to opt out of the program.

Rep. Peggy Scott, R-Andover, said she doesn’t support any changes to the birth certificate.

“I think it’s wrong-headed,” Scott said. “It’s been public record since practically statehood.”

A spokesman said the Health Department is neutral on the bill.  He said the department’s only involvement in the debate was to provide technical assistance to lawmakers interested in making the change.