Sen. Joe Negron, one of the Legislatures libertarian stalwarts, wasted no time Monday defending the privacy rights of Florida citizens.
Speaking during an afternoon meeting of Attorney General Pam Bondi's Statewide Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse and Newborns, Negron expressed his skepticism of online information-sharing.
When I see the word database, generally alarm bells go off, Sen. Negron, R-Stuart, remarked in response to the last of several recommendations of proposals to be brought before the Legislature in 2013: establishment of a database shared by all treatment centers in Florida reporting diagnoses and treatment and outcome data on prenatal and newborn treatment.
Negron asked the panel whether what was being proposed was a public resource listing the names of all Floridians being treated in such centers, or merely statistical information about effective treatments, in which patient identities are kept anonymous. He was assured it was the latter.
It was one of three privacy concerns raised by the libertarian-leaning senator. Another of his objections was to a proposal to [m]ake drug screening patients a best practice policy for obstetricians, including the use of urinalysis.
Dr. Robert Yelverton of the Florida Medical Association seconded Negrons concern over what seemed to be a suggestion that obstetricians be required to perform drug testing on pregnant mothers; Dr. Kenneth Solomon of the Florida Hospital Association concurred with the objection and recommended that the 15-member panel modify the proposal to reflect a strongly worded recommendation of such testing. The panel unanimously agreed.
Finally, one of the 25 proposals discussed at the meeting was one placed on the agenda by Negron himself: creating an immunity provision in Florida law for any pregnant woman who seeks treatment for prescription drug abuse.
"The concept is not to take away any penalties or any criminal exposure that a person would ordinarily have for whatever they're doing," said Negron. "It's to say that the mere act of asking for help, of seeking treatment, that that act, in and of itself, couldn't be grounds to begin a dependency procedure against the woman to take away her [unborn] child [i.e., after it is delivered]."
Bondi concurred, saying she didn't want to scare these pregnant women into not getting prenatal care.
Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, said she thought Negrons idea was a good one, but wanted to make sure any legal immunity did not amount to a get out of jail free card that would hamper law enforcement efforts to protect other children in the household who need to be removed from a dangerous situation and placed in foster care. She expressed confidence an appropriate legislative provision could be crafted that would strike the proper balance.
Sunshine State News asked Negron after the meeting if his concerns had been answered.
I think they have been, he said. General Bondi has done a great job of reaching the balance of addressing these issues and at the same time protecting the privacy of expectant mothers.
His proposed immunity legislation is still in the early drafting stages, and he says hes working on crafting protections narrow enough to encourage prescription drug-addicted expectant mothers to seek help, without undermining the rule of law.
At the beginning of the meeting, Secretary David Wilkins of the Florida Department of Children and Families proposed a $22 million investment by his agency in prevention services. He said substance abuse by parents is a factor in nearly half of the cases in which the state removed children from their homes.
"The very simple logic is, if we can avoid having to remove a lot of these children, then we could, in essence, invest more money on the front end." he suggested.
He told the panel that Florida removed about 8,000 children every year from their homes, and that this costs the state about $20,000 per child. He said his proposed budget could help the state save money over the long term while keeping families intact.
The Task Force is expected to issue its final report next month.
Reach Eric Giunta at egiunta@sunshinestatenews.com or at (954) 235-9116.
