Text of Statute

(A) The public health council shall adopt rules in accordance with Chapter 119. of the Revised Code for testing of newborn children for the presence of phenylketonuria, homocystinuria, galactosemia, and hypothyroidism. The person designated in the rules shall cause a child to be tested in accordance with the rules. The rules may require tests for other genetic, endocrine, or metabolic disorders if the following conditions are met:

(1) A determination is made by the public health council that the disorders cause disability if undiagnosed and untreated and are treatable.

(2) No additional blood samples or specimens are required to conduct the test.

All tests required by this section or by rules adopted by the public health council pursuant to this section shall be performed by the laboratory authorized by section 3701.22 of the Revised Code except that if the rules adopted by the public health council under this section provide that retesting of children with abnormal test results may be performed by laboratories other than that laboratory, retests may be performed by any laboratory approved by the director of health for that purpose.

Rules adopted by the public health council under this section shall prescribe a method for giving notice of the proposed tests and the results of the tests to the parents of the child. The rules shall also prescribe a method for giving notice of the proposed tests and the results of the tests to either the person who caused the child to be tested, employees designated by the rules of the hospital of birth, or the health commissioner for the health district where the birth occurred, whichever is appropriate as determined by the rules.

The rules also shall prescribe laboratory methods and other procedures for the detection of such genetic, endocrine, and metabolic disorders in newborn children, including procedures for retesting and referral of children with abnormal test results. With regard to tests for the presence of phenylketonuria, the laboratory methods and other procedures prescribed in the rules shall include any test that the council determines is effective for use in detecting the disorder in children who are less than forty-eight hours old.

(B) Division (A) of this section does not apply if the parents of the child object thereto on the grounds that such test conflicts with their religious tenets and practices.

HISTORY: 131 v 879 (Eff 7-1-66); 138 v H 1056 (Eff 10-24-80); 139 v H 694 (Eff 11-15-81); 142 v H 790 (Eff 3-16-89); 144 v H 298 (Eff 7-26-91); 146 v S 199. Eff 10-17-96.