Most parents are aware that the newborn screening program will take baby blood samples from the new addition to their family to test for metabolic and genetic disorders. What’s a little less well-known is that those genetic samples aren’t always destroyed after testing. In certain cases, the blood spots are accessed by law enforcement agencies, who use the genetic material to locate and identify suspects in criminal investigations. This is done without the informed consent of the parents.
An amended lawsuit filed in New Jersey on October 6, 2025, seeks to end that practice. Represented by attorneys from the Institute for Justice, the plaintiffs are challenging the New Jersey Department of Health’s use of a newborn’s blood spot after the testing period without parents’ consent as a violation of the Fourteenth and Fourth Amendment constitutional rights. Despite having an earlier version of the complaint dismissed, the federal lawsuit has already provided results, as New Jersey chose to voluntarily shorten the retention period of the samples from 23 years to either two or ten years, depending on the results of the tests.
That’s likely not enough for the New Jersey parents who filed suit on behalf of their children. With New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin saying he’d still allow law enforcement use of baby blood spots in “genuinely exceptional circumstances,” the battle over consent and unreasonable searches and seizures is likely just getting started.
Blood of the Innocent (Literally)
If you’re wondering if testing samples were taken from your newborn baby, the answer is yes. Blood taken shortly after birth to be used for disease screening and testing for 62 metabolic and genetic disorders, such as sickle cell and congenital heart defects, is a normal healthcare practice and legal in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It’s what happens to the blood spots after the 90 days allotted for testing that finds itself facing scrutiny in a U.S. District Court.
This is far from the first time the practice of using a baby’s genetic information to aid in a criminal case has been challenged. A 2023 case in Michigan seeking to grant parental control over the usage of the samples won in lower court before being overturned by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Newborn blood samples were ruled to be genetic material protected by Minnesota’s Genetic Privacy Act in 2011, leading to their destruction after testing through a settlement a few years later. A Texas case in 2009 led to the destruction of over five million blood samples being retained by the state.
The use of baby blood dots for criminally related DNA testing in New Jersey was uncovered due to a lawsuit filed by the state’s Office of the Public Defender in 2022. Five instances of the practice were discovered, including one where the DNA testing was used by state police to link a person to a pair of child rapes that occurred seven years apart. At the time, the retention period for the samples was well within the 23-year limit.
The Art of Asking
Parents Erica Jedynak, Jeremiah Jedynak, and Hannah Lovaglio are not trying to stop the drawing of children’s blood for testing by health officials. What they are opposed to is the free rein the state of New Jersey has with the genetic material after the testing is over, even for the newly shortened duration. Their proposed class action suit seeks an injunction barring New Jersey from using the baby blood dots for any purpose beyond screening without explicit parental consent to do so.
The courts are not the only means of resolving the issue of blood samples and parental consent. In March 2025, Utah legislators passed a new law that requires written parental consent to retain any blood drawn from a newborn after the initial screening. It also demands the destruction of the card containing the baby blood dots by a 90-day deadline unless the parents agree that the state can keep it for an additional seven years.
The use of a baby’s DNA to identify related criminals is a Pandora’s Box of legal, ethical, and moral conundrums. The lawsuit aims to place the decision-making squarely in the hands of the parents, while those with an opposing view will point out that it could mean letting a criminal stay free. For now, the decision will be hashed out in a New Jersey courtroom.
Related Resources
- New Parent Checklist (FindLaw’s Parental Rights and Legal Liability)
- Top Seven Legal Issues for Pregnant Women and New Moms (FindLaw’s Federal Courts)
- Paternity Blood Tests and DNA (FindLaw’s Family Law)
