Who’s looking in your genes? April 25, 2008
Posted by davegoblog in Future, Politics, Science, Technology.trackback
Have no fear! Only you and your doctor will be able to know what’s hiding in your genes. The U.S. Senate has finally passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), approving by unanimous vote an amended version of H.R. 493, which passed the House a year ago today by a vote of 420-3. As I previously blogged, the Senate debate had been on “hold” by Tom Coburn, Republican U.S. Senator from Oklahoma.
The act, once signed into law, will protect Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment. The long-awaited measure, which has been debated in Congress for 13 years (my emphasis), will pave the way for people to take full advantage of the promise of personalized medicine without fear of discrimination.
Start studying for that genetic test now!
Laws haven’t stopped the government from spying on the other aspects of our lives including phone calls, intercepting email and monitoring financial transactions, so I really don’t know why our genetic records will really be “protected”. Nice to dream though.
I’m sure if someone really wanted to get your genetic info, then they could get it. This act is to mainly keep insurers from denying coverage or employers from not hiring someone based on their DNA results. However, I wouldn’t be surprised it the government began requiring testing for gov’t positions – similiar to requiring background checks, polygraph tests, etc. for security clearance. Maybe someone’s more of a security risk if they’re genetic predisposed to…fill-in-the-blank.
Darn. You mean I can’t show off my genetic map just to brag about that one recessive gene I have that would otherwise express a two-foot long tail on my backside?