Austen Muelder was born on August 20,2002, in a hospital in Santa Barbara, California, a healthy baby in every visible respect. Shortly after his birth, Austen's mother, Angela, was handed a booklet describing the blood testing that the state wished to perform on her son.
California had begun an experimental program to screen newborns for two dozen genetic disorders, a great leap from the four tests required. Angela had no hesitation "if it was going to be for his health." With a small lancet, a nurse stuck Austen's heel. She held his foot over a card of cotton filter paper while blood dropped onto five circles in a row. When the spots dried, the test was mailed to a state lab in Los Angeles for screening. Angela and her husband, Jayson, took Austen home to grandmother Linda Fernandez's house in Ojai. Everything was fine for a month.
"A perfect baby;' ...
