Senate passes ‘Mattie’s Law’ to expand newborn screening after child’s health crisis

Little Mattie Beacham fought for her life, underwent a liver transplant and lost fingers on her left hand because doctors failed to act on a liver test’s troubling results when she was born, according to a lawsuit filed by her parents.

Mattie’s parents — Orlando news anchor Allison Beacham and her restaurateur husband, Michael — are now fighting to require hospitals to screen for biliary atresia, which can show early signs of liver disease.

As part of that fight, the Senate has unanimously passed a bill dubbed “Mattie’s Law.”

“We cannot change what happened to Mattie, but we can help ensure that the next child gets the chance she deserves,” said Sen. LaVon Bracey Davis, an Ocoee Democrat who filed SB 1574 to expand newborn screening requirements.

Senators acknowledged the Beachams watching the final vote from the West Gallery and gave them a standing ovation. Then, the full Senate joined in to co-sponsor Bracy Davis’ bill.

But the House companion bill (HB 1335), filed by Rep. Rachel Saunders Plakon, was never called to a House Committee vote this Session, leaving its fate in that chamber unclear.

The Beachams are also petitioning federal lawmakers to pass legislation to expand newborn screening.

U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis told Spectrum News 13 last year he is “committed to working alongside them to raise awareness of this condition and to help improve screening for newborns.”

In addition to their fight in the Capitol, the Beachams are also suing the Pediatrix Medical Group of Florida. Pediatrix, which provides clinical services for Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies, declined to comment Thursday.

Biliary atresia — which occurs in 1 out of every 12,000 births — is a condition when a baby’s bile ducts are blocked and cannot send bile from the liver to the small intestine, according to Senate staff analysis.

Acting fast is vital. Biliary atresia causes severe liver damage without treatment.

Allison Beacham, a host and anchor for Spectrum News 13, said she learned something was wrong with her daughter at her 2-month-old checkup. 

“As soon as (the pediatrician) looked at her, he just turned ghost white. He was clutching these papers — they had charts and graphs. And he knew something was up,” Allison Beacham said during a Senate Committee in February.

For the next several months, Mattie fought for her life. Her parents slept in the critical care for 182 nights. In September came the Hail Mary: a liver transplant. 

“She would have died without that try,” Allison Beacham said.

Mattie, now 3, smiley and squirmy, also made appearances during the legislative process in her parents’ arms. On social media, the Beachams post pictures of Mattie in princess dresses and joining the family on their travels.

Advocating at a Senate Committee hearing, Michael Beacham said newborns are already getting the bilirubin test so screening for biliary atresia is “not a system expansion” but a “measurement adjustment within an existing test.”

“It’s available in every hospital and or commercial laboratory in the state of Florida. It can be measured easily with the same blood draw obtained during the heel stick. So it’s no additional heel stick. No additional cost. All we’re doing is adapting a test that’s already done,” Michael Beacham said.

Senate staff analysis of the bill said it would create “a significant negative recurring fiscal impact on the Department of Health” and cost nearly $3.9 million.