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Bill To Outlaw Genetic Discrimination In US

Posted by kdawson on from the hands-off-my-genes dept.

fatduck sends us a brief note from New Scientist about the overwhelming passage in the US House of Representatives of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. As written, the bill would prohibit insurance companies from charging higher rates, and employers from discriminating in hiring, based on the results of genetic tests. A Boston Globe editorial notes that the bill has been held up in the Senate by the action of a single senator, who has an (outdated) objection based on his anti-abortion stance. President Bush has said he will sign the bill if it reaches his desk.

7 of 353 comments (clear)

  1. Hmm. by pushing-robot · · Score: 2, Informative

    I'm in favor of this law, don't get me wrong, but I thought we'd been practicing "genetic discrimination" since life began.

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  2. Any downsides? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Shouldn't an airline be allowed to deny a pilot a job based on a profile that determines he's likely to suffer seizures? Should an insurance company have to carry and not charge extra for somebody whose genes are programmed to misfire when the applicant turns 35?

  3. Re:Questions after reading the summary... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    While I agree it wouldn't have been hard to write out the senators name the whole point of a summery is to give you a taster of the article, not to answer all of your questions. Go RTFA if you want to know the answers to 2 and 3.

  4. Gattaca by DarkLegacy · · Score: 2, Informative

    I had a horrible chill about Gattaca as soon as I read the title. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/

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  5. Legislative Holds by pavon · · Score: 4, Informative

    I was not familiar with the practice of legislative holds, so I googled it and found this description by the same senator that is holding up this bill, Tom Coburn. I thought others might find it interesting as well.

  6. Re:It's EXACTLY like basing rates on sex by Score+Whore · · Score: 2, Informative

    You do know that men and women receive different insurance rates and benefits, right?

  7. Re:Questions after reading the summary... by gillbates · · Score: 2, Informative

    Apparently, the Senator is Tom Coburn, who apparently objected on the grounds that a loophole would allow genetic information obtained from fetuses. That is, genetic discrimination would still be legal if the source of the information was acquired from prenatal lab tests.

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