Florida House Stalls Mattie's Law, Delaying Newborn Liver Screenings

Florida newborns will not be screened for a potentially fatal liver disease this year after legislation known as Mattie's Law failed to clear both chambers before the Legislature adjourned. The setback will affect families across the state, including those navigating newborn care at Cleveland Clinic Martin North and Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in the coming year.

The bill, SB 1574, would have required Florida hospitals to screen newborns for biliary atresia, a pediatric liver disease that must be detected within a baby's first 30 days of life to avoid organ transplant. The Senate passed the measure unanimously in early March, with senators from both parties signing on as co-sponsors. The House version of the bill, however, was never called to a committee vote before Sine Die on Friday.

Orlando parents Allison and Michael Beacham championed the legislation. Their daughter Mattie survived biliary atresia but underwent a liver transplant and lost fingers on her left hand after doctors failed to act on troubling liver test results at birth, according to the family. Mattie's cumulative medical bills have reached $7 million.

"The lives that will be lost in this coming year until we can get it back into the process could be saved with a simple stroke of a pen," the Beachams said in a statement.

The Beachams argued the screening could be performed using the same blood draw already used for other standard newborn tests — making it a low-cost addition with potentially life-saving consequences. Widespread screening would not only protect infants but reduce long-term costs to the health care system, they said.

Sen. LaVon Bracy Davis, the bill's Senate sponsor, pledged to refile the legislation for the 2027 Legislative Session. "Mattie and her parents have been with me every step of the way during this journey, and I made a promise to deliver for her and for other children across Florida," Bracy Davis said in a statement.

The Beachams have also advocated for a federal screening standard and have met with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. representatives to advance the effort nationally.

Families concerned about newborn screenings should speak with their pediatrician or contact the St. Lucie County Health Department for information on currently required screenings available at local birthing hospitals.

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