New Anti-Discrimination Measure Based on Genes Passes in Congress
A recent bill has passed both the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate and is awaiting the signature of the President. This bill represents the intersection of anti-discrimination and human rights laws with that of privacy rights.
The issue was discussed in the May 2, 2008 edition of The New York Times. The bill is called the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and it will prohibit both employers and health insurers from discriminating based on the genetic information of individuals. This bill has received broad bi-partisan support and has the possible effect of increased public participation in genetic testing and related fields.
This issue receiving national attention also promotes an increased awareness to the public of possible discrimination by employers, especially, even beyond the scope of genetic information, but because of such protected reasons as race, gender, and national origin.
