Prevent Blindness Says West Virginia State House Bill Would Imperil Children’s Vision
Prevent Blindness published a letter on its website Tuesday calling on the West Virginia State House to reject HB 3444.
The nonprofit vision advocay group, said if enacted, the legislation would remove the mandate that all newborns in the state receive erythromycin ointment applied to their eyes after birth, which can help to avoid an easily preventable form of blindness.
"Prevent Blindness was founded in 1908 to stop a tragic and preventable cause of infant blindness—ophthalmia neonatorum, a serious eye infection passed from mother to child during childbirth. For decades, due to persistent advocacy, education, and promotion of the science and data that demonstrates its efficacy, this has been the standard of care for newborns in every state in the country as a low-cost and safe treatment that yields optimal outcomes for children’s vision and eye health," Prevent Blindness stated.
"With removal of the mandate, legislators are opting for parental notification and choice as to whether their newborn child receives the ointment—a topical noninvasive intervention. The legislation does not, however, provide a clear method to define or ensure that informed parental consent has occurred. While providers will still move forward with clinical practice standards set by the American Academy of Pediatrics in application of a topical prophylaxis, the removal of a mandate creates a pathway for parental confusion and misinformation to the science that has driven this proven public health intervention," the letter stated.
“As a public health organization, Prevent Blindness recognizes the need to balance individual rights with community well-being, especially when the most vulnerable, in this case, newborns, cannot advocate for themselves,” said Jeff Todd, President and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “Mandating this standard of care is about protecting children from avoidable harm.”
As it stands, the West Virginia Legislature is expected to take up a final vote on the measure before referring it to Governor Patrick Morrisey for signature.