Lawsuit alleges state illegally obtained blood from newborns

HEMLOCK (AP) — A group of Michigan parents has filed a lawsuit alleging that the state didn't obtain proper consent to draw or store their newborns' blood for medical research.

MLive.com reports Saginaw County Attorney Philip Ellison filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of the parents, saying Michigan's practice of drawing infant blood is unconstitutional. 

The lawsuit also alleges that there aren't protections in place to stop police or others from accessing information that can be derived from the stored blood samples.

State officials say the blood of more than five million people is being stored for health research.

Ellison said the lawsuit isn't trying to stop newborn testing, but aims to return parents’ right to decide.