Kaitienglish's Blog

The concept of genetic prejudice seems like something that would come out of a sci-fi movie but it is now an issue of the present. A new law is effective starting November 21, 2009 to prevent prejudices by companies against the results of genetic testing.  This law will help to prevent companies from making work related decisions based on the results of a genetic test that may show one’s predisposition to any type of disease.  One case explained in the article is that of a woman who was fired soon after she told her office that she was having a genetic test for breast cancer, her boss said the company couldn’t afford to keep her if the results were positive.  This law also applies to health insurance companies from asking people to give family medical histories, and prevents group health plans from giving people lower premiums if they do give a family medical history.  Results of genetic testing are very broad and reveal information beyond those of the person being tested into family medical histories.  The new law, called GINA, is put into place so that people can feel free to get genetic testing and not worry about the repercussions of their employers.  To show the wide range of genetic predispositions these tests show, the article also said that a track maintenance worker from Nebraska  was ordered by his boss to see a doctor and have blood taken he didnt know until after that they were genetically testing his blood for a predisposition for carpal tunnel syndrome.  This kind of misleading by employers should be prevented at all costs.  The act also makes it illegal for an employer to obtain medical information about an employee from a family member’s obituary and then “alter the terms, conditions and privileges of employment.”  This article is full of more information on this act and also highlights more discrepancies over those in the health care profession.