Genetic Rights now legislated for US citizens
From Wired Science:
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was signed into law by President Bush today. In a nutshell, it prevents employers and insurers from using genetic data against you.
The bill’s co-sponsor, Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), calls it the “the first civil rights legislation of the 21st century.” Here’s why it matters:
- Employers can’t deny you a job because you’re genetically predisposed to develop a particular disease or condition.
- Insurers can’t use your genetic profile to deny coverage or raise your premiums.
- Thus protected, you can benefit from medical genetic testing without worrying about the results being used against you.
- People will be less reluctant to take part in genetic research. This will help scientists, and — as the complex interplay between genes, environment and development is better understood — you.
This is very good news, I think. Hopefully other countries follow suit soon. I see this as a very positive step, encouraging people to actively manage their health, fighting illness and disease pro-actively, instead of waiting to fall ill. An important step towards our Post-Death Future, this is.
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Hey now. It’s not often you see something positive come from US legislation. I was wondering how this would drama would play out, and this is a surprisingly fast development.
In future, will legislation actually keep up with, or even surpass, technological advancements?
Wow… I doubt it, but who knows?
This still bugs me a bit. Seems to draw attention to genomics in a potentially dangerous way.
“Skin color don’t matter, was the message we beat into these fuckers. It’s what you got inside.” -Spider, “Lonely City,” part one.
At first I thought Hey, neat, Bush did something smart – then I realized it was probably a preemptive move to keep the Bush clan from being marginalized in the future due to irreparable genetic flaws….