In the list of more than 3,000 pieces of legislation introduced in the General Assembly this session, one of them holds a special place in the hearts of all who hear about it. House Bill 1414, Sickle-Cell Trait Screening, Treatment, Education and Public Awareness, was brought to the legislature by Brian and Camille Butler, in collaboration with Lois Rosado, and is now co-sponsored in the House by Delegates Alonzo Washington and Anne Healey. The Butlers and Rosado attended the Greenbelt City Council March 26 meeting to speak about the bill and request the council’s support for it.
Also called Journey’s Law, the bill is named for the Butlers’ daughter Journey, who died in July 2016 at the age of 13 from renal medullary carcinoma, a rare cancer associated with inheriting the sickle cell gene from one parent. A person who inherits the gene from one parent will not suffer from sickle cell disease, but the gene is associated with increased risk for other diseases. Moreover, if both parents carry the trait, the chances of a child being born with sickle cell disease are one in four. Most people who carry the trait are of African descent but not exclusively so. In the United States, one in 10 African Americans carries the sickle cell trait.
Read more of this story in the April 12 News Review.
