Arguments Against Genetic Discrimination

Development in personalized medicine could greatly influence the current standards of diagnosis, prognosis and treatment. The Human Genome Project guaranteed a revolution in the individualized treatment concept. Just as a person’s characteristics are unique to their genomic information, the origin to a disease could be correlated with the genomic sequences unique to that person. An advantage of such a therapeutic approach is diagnosing the possible susceptibility to a disease and preventing this outcome by providing drug therapies much before its outbreak.

Just as most bioethicists and medical professionals agree that genetic testing for curable or preventable diseases is beneficial to patients, they also agree that genetic testing for incurable and untreatable diseases, such as Alzheimer's, is useless (Hubbard & Wald, 1999; Ridley, 1999). Although a negative test may afford a person the reassurance that he or she will not develop the disease, a positive test could be a death sentence. For example, since 1986 people who are at risk for Huntington's disease have had the option of being tested for the mutation on chromosome 4 that is linked to the disease (Ridley, 1999). In Genome, Nancy Wexler, a woman who set out to identify the Huntington's gene in the late 1970s, relates the story of a woman who asked doctors whether or not she had Huntington's disease (Ridley, 1999). Although the doctors found that the woman was showing subtle signs of the disease, she could not detect these signs herself. The doctors, rather than telling the woman that she had the disease, let her believe that she was well and did not have Huntington's disease. After the woman left the doctors' office, the woman's friend came into the office and asked the doctors what they had said to the woman, because earlier the woman had told her friend that she

The genetic information nondiscrimination act of 2008 protects people from losing their health insurance or employment due to genetic discrimination. The health insurance and portability act of 1966 (HIPAA) aids in prohibiting health insurers from being involved with genetic discrimination. States that publishing personal information will result in fines up to $250,000 and up to 10 years in jail.

The benefits of genetic science for society is for employers who want to know if their employers are in excellent working condition and if the worker will cause them more money when obtaining health insurance. If an employer hires someone that that is healthy then the cost of health insurance does not rise and the employee will not have to downgrade their health insurance plan so that they can accommodate the employee that is not healthy. The limitations of genetic science for society are the possibility of genetic testing causing safety issues at work, the development of a genetic low class, the breach of privilege and confidentiality, and the utilization of genetic bias to excuse different methods of discrimination (Krumm, 2002).

2008 - The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) - prohibits insurances to discriminate against genetic makeup

Genetic testing, can affect a person’s life in many ways. Genetic testing is a type of medical testing that identifies changes that occur in chromosomes, proteins, and genes. These changes that occur can be associated, and often are associated with inherited

Despite all of the progress that has made towards equal opportunity, discrimination is still a major problem in the United States of America. A relatively new phenomenon, titled genetic discrimination, occurs when individuals are discriminated against on account of their genetic information. On May 21st, 2008, the GINA Act was passed, making it illegal to refuse to provide employment or health insurance to individuals based on their genetic information in all U.S. states and territories. Title I prevents genetic discrimination in health coverage, while Title II prevents genetic discrimination in employment. Title I took effect on May 21st, 2009, and Title II took effect eighteen months later on November 21st, 2009. With the GINA Act, it is

Genetic testing has become a highly controversial issue among both the general population and the scientific community. It is a process that exposes a person’s entire genome sequence, allowing it to be read and evaluated to identify potential risks for genetic diseases or diseases that could be passed onto offspring (Holt Productions, 2012). With thousands of genetic tests already being used, and more being established, it seems logical to put this growing technology to use. Some agree that it is a person’s right to know and understand his or her genetic makeup. However, others argue that, despite the benefits of genetic testing, caution should be used to carefully inspect the risks associated with this new technology.

Laws like GINA should be improved to allow citizens to have more privacy with their genetic information.

Another ethical debate reigns in the choice for HD patients to have children and in prenatal screening for HD. Since HD is generally not diagnosed until later in life, many patients have children before their HD diagnosis (Ethical issues of genetic diagnosis, 2007). The children of one parent with HD have a 50% chance of developing the disease themselves. However, if a patient tests positive for the gene that causes Huntington's disease before having children, conflicts could arise between partners about whether or not to even have children (Ethical issues of genetic diagnosis, 2007 and Tassicker, Savulescu, Skene, Marshall, Fitzgerald & Delatycki, 2003). The predictive genetic test for HD can also be performed before a baby is born. If

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (2008): Prohibits employment discrimination based on genetic information about an applicant, employee, or former employee

<br>4. The rights of knowing someone's own health status and keeping that information private to oneself should be provided to all members of a society. Only the individual should have full access to information about his own genetic constitution and others should be prevented by legal regulations. As we have said above, the results of genetic tests can sometimes be detrimental to the individual. If a person does not want to know the information, its nobody's business nor right to declare it. This includes even not explaining favorable test results without the individual's request.

only lead to discrimination with insurance coverage but also with employers. Once the genetic information is part of the individual’s medical record, it may then be accessed by others. Cases of employers having used genetic information as part of the selection process have been found in Australia. Genetic discrimination has even been detected in the armed forces where a young man was asked to provide documentation that showed he was not predisposed to Marfan syndrome, of which he had a family history. Genetic discrimination is probably the biggest concern for individuals when it comes to the cause and effects of genetic testing upon society. Some of this concern roots from the extreme examples of world leaders and prevalent scientists in the

The fear of genetic discrimination is a phobia gripping many people around the world. People find themselves asking, could my genetic information raise my health bills? Could this cause me to be rejected from a job opportunity? These anxieties are causing people to lash out at genetic research, and ultimately the human genome project. People do not want our understanding of human genomics to advance. This is because the risks of the development of the technology could inflict on them. A major risk is genetic discrimination. I believe that genetic discrimination is wrong and governments should continue to prevent it because it is an invasion of privacy, it violates equity, and it could really hurt people with genetic

Exploration into the function of each gene discovered will continue well into the 21st century. The knowledge gained from this will lead us to better understand the cause of genetically related diseases. Having the ability to recognize the causation of a disease will shift technology from trial and error treatments to specific drugs designed to treat the gene sequence and protein structure. This is called gene therapy and is the most exciting aspect of the HGP. It gives the