Parents Challenge Nebraska's Metabolic Screening Requirement

Mary and Josue Anaya of Omaha , Nebraska have filed suit in federal district court challenging on religious grounds the constitutionality of Nebraska's requirement that all newborns be screened for various metabolic conditions. Yesterday's Omaha World-Herald reports that the couple is also appealing the state court decision that led to their 6-week old son being temporarily placed in foster care so the testing could be carried out. (See prior posting.) This is not the first time that the Anaya's have pressed this issue. (background). In 2005, the Nebraska Supreme Court rejected a similar constitutional challenge to the metabolic screening law brought when the state insisted on testing their daughter who was born in 2003. (Douglas County, Nebraska v. Anaya, NE Sup. Ct., 2005). Nebraska is one of the few states that has no religious exemption to its screening requirement. (See prior related posting.)