Bush signs ban on genetic discrimination
- May 23, 2008
President Bush has signed into law a bill to prevent insurers and employers from discriminating against people based on their genetic information.
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) restricts health insurance companies from using genetic information to deny coverage or charge higher premiums to healthy people. It also bars employers from using such knowledge in hiring, firing and other employment decisions.
The president signed the legislation May 21 after Congress approved it with only one vote in dissent. The Senate voted 95-0 for GINA April 24 and the House of Representatives approved it May 1 in a 414-1 roll call. Rep. Ron Paul, R.-Texas, cast the sole “no” vote.
The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission supported the measure and offered special commendation for the work of Rep. Bart Stupak, D.-Mich., in helping make certain the bill included language outlawing discrimination against parents whose babies in the womb or children being adopted have shown a genetic propensity for some diseases.
Advances in genetic testing have benefited human beings by enabling doctors to prevent or delay afflictions based on the results, but concerns about the use of information by insurers and employers have caused some Americans to reject the tests, the bill’s sponsors said. A test that shows a genetic predisposition for an ailment may cause negative repercussions for an otherwise healthy person in insurance coverage or employment.
When the National Institutes of Health offered women genetic testing for breast cancer risk, nearly 32 percent of those who received the offer refused to be tested because of concerns about insurance discrimination, it was reported in Senate debate in 2005.
The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York, first introduced a measure barring genetic discrimination in 1995.
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