Editorial, Opinion Piece Address Legislation To Prohibit Genetic Discrimination

Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 22 May 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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Two newspapers on Wednesday published an editorial and an opinion piece that address a bill (HR 493) recently approved by Congress that would prohibit discrimination based on the results of genetic tests. Summaries appear below.

• USA Today: The bill, which President Bush likely will sign on Wednesday, would allow U.S. residents to undergo genetic tests "without worrying that the results could cost them their job or health insurance," a USA Today editorial states. According to the editorial, the "issue is increasingly relevant" because "more than 1,100 tests look for genetic links to various diseases." Genetic tests can "alert people to their own medical risks" and "help researchers find therapies for hereditary diseases," the editorial states. The legislation would "set a national standard" against genetic discrimination and, although "not perfect," would represent a "crucial step forward," according to the editorial (USA Today, 5/21).
  
  
• Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.), Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: The "triumph in genetics joins the ranks of other momentous scientific discoveries ... that completely changed the face of medicine," but "to fully reap the benefits ... we must" enact the bill to "make sure that our social policy keeps pace with scientific advancement," Slaughter, chair of the House Rules Committee, writes in a Democrat and Chronicle opinion piece. She writes, "The information provided by genetic testing will let us cut down on hospital stays and invasive surgeries while allowing medical treatments to be more personalized," as well as provide researchers with "invaluable information and insight into how to combat and perhaps even cure these diseases." In the past, the "fear of discrimination has held people back from undergoing genetic testing or participating in clinical trials," Slaughter writes, adding, "By freeing Americans from fear," the legislation will "make genetic testing commonplace, allowing the full potential of genetic research to be realized" (Slaughter, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 5/21).
  

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