2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 16
BY SENATOR HEWITT AND REPRESENTATIVES BAGLEY, CHANEY, COX,
HOFFMANN, LEBAS, MCMAHEN, MOORE, POPE, STOKES AND
TURNER
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to take such actions as are
necessary to add Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) to the newborn screening panel
of this state.
WHEREAS, SMA is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects motor
nerve cells in the spinal cord, diminishing all physical strength, impeding the ability to walk,
swallow, and in severe cases, the ability to breathe; and
WHEREAS, SMA is the leading genetic cause of death for infants today, annually
affecting approximately one out of eleven thousand babies born nationwide and
approximately six babies born in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, SMA is detectable through genetic testing, and early detection of this
disorder is vital to ensure the expedited treatment and survival of babies born with SMA; and
WHEREAS, newborn screening identifies babies with congenital disorders like
SMA; and
WHEREAS, in 2018, United States Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar
approved the recommendation of the Federal Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders
in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) to add testing for SMA to the Recommended
Uniform Screening Panel (RUSP) for newborns; and
WHEREAS, nearly four million newborns are screened annually in the United States
for numerous diseases, and seven states are currently screening for SMA; and
WHEREAS, screening for SMA in a newborn is not included in Louisiana's current
newborn screening panel.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to take such actions as are necessary
to add SMA to the newborn screening panel of this state.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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