Arguments Against Genetic Discrimination

Superior Essays
People are worried about being rejected for a job, because of their genetic information. No company should have the right to hire, fire or judge people based on their genetic background. Genetic discrimination is when people are treated unfairly because of the differences in their DNA and their chance of getting a disease. A number of laws have passed that have protected people under the law. For example, GINA, which protects people from genetic discrimination from employers and health insurance providers. Even though laws have been passed to help protect people from genetic discrimination, companies have broken the law, paid a penalty and were free to go. The laws that are too be passed must be hard on the employer and act as some kind of …show more content…
Also the company threatened to terminate a contract of one worker who refused to get himself tested. This shows that companies violated the law and that there should be stricter laws than just paying the penalty. This wasn’t the only case linked to genetic discrimination; other cases have been reported where the insurance companies have stopped covering healthcare for patients because they were diagnosed with a genetic disease. The council for responsible genetics wrote “Seven-year-old Danny is in perfect health, but a genetic tests reveals that he has a gene predisposing him to a heart disorder. Even though he takes medication that lowers his risk of a heart attack, he is denied health insurance. His insurance company argues that since his gene has been present since birth, this qualifies as a pre-existing medical condition.” Another case reported by the council of responsible genetics was “Kim is a social worker with a large human services agency. During a staff workshop on caring for people with chronic illnesses, Kim mentions that she was the primary caretaker for her mother who died of Huntington’s disease. Kim herself has a 50% chance of developing this fatal genetic condition. One week …show more content…
The verge stated “What’s even more striking, however, is that 30 percent of participants said that they became more worried about genetic discrimination after reading about GINA.” Which means that people were actually worried that this is becoming a problem. The US government needs to educate its people on the rights of its people and how they can get justice. People are afraid to get genetically tested and have that data listed on their medical record because they think, that it might affect their career and that will judge them. GINA does not cover life insurance, so that means that people can be refused a policy, if the company requests a genetic testing to be done. However, at this rate of advancements in the science industry, “genetic discrimination” might not exist, because every treatment will be gene based and there is a chance that none of us will have mutated genes. However, the government needs to find a way to reassure the

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    In an article titled “A Defense of Genetic Discrimination” published in 2013, Noah Levin attempts to defend genetic discrimination and uses the hypothetical example of a bus driver who is asymptomatic, meaning they show no symptoms, but “has a 90 percent chance of suffering a serious epileptic seizure within the next four years” (Genetic discrimination in employment). He argues that prohibiting an employer from having access to this genetic information creates a public safety risk. “Not only should use of genetic information be allowed in this case, it should be required” (In this case however, Levin fails to consider the chance that the tests are not completely accurate and even if they are, there is still a chance that this person will never have a seizure. Denying someone a job, promotion, or insurance based on the chance that they might develop a medical problem is unethical and…

    • 1404 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As “reading” our genomes becomes more available, I think each person should have complete privacy over their genetic information. It’s their personal information, and it’s their right to share it if they’d like, but no one else besides immediate family should have the right to use their genetic information. Immediate family should be allowed rights too, because it could be helpful in making important decisions or in emergencies. Employers and insurers should absolutely not be able to reject someone based on their genome. That would be purely discrimination, weather it saves them money or not.…

    • 670 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ross L. Jones’s article investigates a society that practiced eugenics during the last two centuries. Eugenics was a major school of thought based on science and accepted as true by upper-class people (165). Eugenics played an enormous role in Australian society by denouncing those who had “inferior genes”, which was approved by the medical community and the politicians of that era. The main motivator for eugenics was the educated class and politicians. Pro-eugenicists sought the “maximising of an individual’s potential” as long as the individual represented people they believed were like themselves and stripped those who were seen as “inferior” of their rights as human beings and citizens (166).…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Human Genome Project started in the 1980’s had the potential for major steps forward in understanding how DNA could produce certain characteristics in Humans. It also threw up a number of moral issues relating to potential abuse of gene manipulation and discrimination against those with the wrong genes! In Gattaca the novel is constructed around a society based on a hirarchy of Genetic purity, which at the time was a major discussion point, with many people believing they would be worse off through the decoding of their genes. An American citizen spoke his thoughts in the early 90’s saying,”With the use of genes, don 't you think that many more people will be discriminated against? If you had a 76% chance of getting cancer, would insurance companies have the right to deny you coverage?.…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As modern medicine advances, genetic testing has become more advanced and accurate than ever before. By a relatively inexpensive test and within a few weeks time, an individual can know what diseases they are prone to in the future. While this technology is insightful, the information that it supplies has the potential to drastically change people 's lives. When taking a Utilitarian approach, Katharine Moser’s decision to undergo genetic testing is not viewed as morally wrong, but her decision to testify in court was.…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Race and ethnicity has little effect of genetic makeup, but it has a great effect on the level of care that an individual receives. There are many studies indicating that minority groups receive more expensive and lower quality health care. Some studies take a look at whether the site of care affects the quality of care among minority groups and how different lifestyle factors could also influence health. Using race in the health care system creates unnecessary discrimination. This discrimination leads to adverse health effects for minority populations.…

    • 1461 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis, potential discrimination against patients, and no guarantee of disease development are a few of the disadvantages of genetic testing that have helped develop my stance. This does not mean we are to ignore the benefits of genetic testing. However, after taking into account both the advantages and the disadvantages discussed and weighing them with each other, I have come to the conclusion that the disadvantages of genetic testing outweigh the…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Chapter Nine: Was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study ethical? Are studies in nature ever ethically justified? The Tuskegee Syphilis Study was unethical since scientists did not show any concern for the subject’s livelihood.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I am very aware of the popular belief out there that, we live in a time of sharply decreasing faith in the criminal justice system. The historic mistreatment of African-Americans at the hands of the criminal justice system is widely acknowledged, and no one would agree that the vestiges of those tragic practices have all been removed. But no doubt in my mind that progress has been recorded. Americans have tried to address these problems over the years by requiring objective, race-neutral justifications for government actions within the criminal justice system. We have, for example, required that the jury representation be composed of a fair cross-section of the community.…

    • 377 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Wrongful Life

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Reproductive Genetics, Wrongful Life, and Wrongful Birth: A Summary Analysis of “Bill S-201: An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination” by Jennifer Ann Rinaldi Summary: Rinaldi’s (2009) article provides legal evidence of various cases involved in litigation related to ‘wringful death” and wrongful birth” issues in genetics reproductive rights. This article provides evidence of the negative biases of disability cases that can be harmful by devaluating the life of the disabled individual. A focus on various legal cases, such as R.H. v. Hunter, [1996] and Arndt v. Smith, [1997], that the burden of wrongful life and wringful death inordinately shift the shame of ‘existing” onto the disabled person in the Canadian court of law. A…

    • 718 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Genetic discrimination involves the use of genetic information by employers, insurance companies, and others to discriminate against or stigmatize people. After detecting the disease incredible repair work can done…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout history, racial inequality has been a recurring issue. Three leaders have publicly addressed this issue, and we have all heard or read their speeches. The question is, who had the strongest arguments? Well, it was none other than Martin Luther King himself. He had the most solid cases compared to Clinton and Bush.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The existence of race is a matter of contention. Forensic anthropologists deem it a useful entity in their line of work due to finding success with using race for matching skeletal remains with a particular profile. However, arguments against the existence of a biological race are convincing. Analysis of genetic sequences has revealed that whilst there is much individual genetic variation, between population differences are minute (Livingstone and Dobzhansky, 1962). Specifically, Templeton (1998) analysed mitochondrial DNA, finding 85% of variation was due to ‘individual differences’ whilst only 15% could be put down to differences between race.…

    • 871 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are you for or against genetic tests on children? In the articles,”Why we Should Think Twice About Giving Genetic Tests to Our Kids,” and “Genetic Testing for Kids: Is It a Good Idea?” They both give multiple reasons why it is a bad idea to test kids genetics. The first reason is that adults and children may worry. The second reason is that you may find unknown information.…

    • 929 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Tamara, Prior to this unit I was not familiar with the legalities with genetic testing nor had I heard of any incidence within my organization. I agree with your discussion post, the manager likely was violating the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA). According to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), “Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), which prohibits genetic information discrimination in employment, took effect on November 21, 2009.” The law prohibits employees from being fired, discriminated against, paid, promoted, or laid off due to their genetic information.…

    • 408 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays