Human Genome Project / genetic discrimination based on testing for harmful genes - Essay Example

Human Genome Project genetic discrimination based on testing for “harmful” genes Genetic discrimination is a form ofdiscrimination especially by employers or insurance companies based on possession of perceived harmful genes that exposes a person to the risk of developing a chronic condition. Records of genetic tests are included in medical records. Insurers and employers have a right to accessing this information. Genetic test records may form the basis of decisions made by parities such as insurers and employers and this negatively affects the people with the “wrong gene” (Schoonmaker and Williams 30).

The groups working on the Human Genome Project has recognized possibility of genetic discrimination and has suggested that results of genetic tests should not be used to make decisions on eligibility for insurance cover or employment. They have also suggested that third parties should not have access to that information except through written permission of the person who owns the test records. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 protect people against genetic discrimination.

However, where employer and insurers have access to the records, there is no guarantee that people will not be discriminated against. For example, although discrimination based on gender and race is illegal, evidence shows that people or color face barriers to accessing employment and women face obstacles that prevent them from leadership positions. The same applies to people with disability. This means that making genetic discrimination illegal does not guarantee that employers and insurers will always comply (Schoonmaker and Williams 23).

Genetic testing is likely to contribute to increased cases of discrimination for those in possession of the wrong gene. Genetic testing is useful in some cases. For example, some people who carry the gene HLA-DPB1 have beryllium sensitivity and chronic beryllium disease. Genetic test can reveal this occupation hazard for the people with this gene in the workplace. However, in circumstances where the company wants to lay off workers, people with the gene may be the first to be laid off as their condition may be considered by the company as a liability.

This suggests that genetic discrimination even where advantages of genetic test are obvious could still be used to victimize people (Maheu 12). Another danger of genetic tests stems from American experience with eugenics. Eugenic movement was strong in America in the 19th century. It was even widely accepted in the academic community. The early proponents of eugenics were prominent scientists and influential people in society. This movement advocated for measures such as prevention of disabled people and imbeciles from having children.

Margaret Singer supported birth control as a measure of preventing unwanted children from being born in disadvantaged life (Gehring 20). Mentally retarded people were even isolated to prevent them from breeding with the rest of the people. Laws were passed for the sterilization of people who were mentally retarded. California sterilized as many as 60,000 within 50 years starting from 1909 (Gehring 24). Eugenic movement also sought to bar immigration restrictions into America from people considered racially inferior to the genetically superior Anglo-Saxon stock.

American eugenic movement influenced Nazi Germany racial policies that considered non Germans and especially Slavic, Jews, blacks and other people as racially inferior (Gehring 23). As late as 1994 Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray sought to provide empirical evidence that suggest that intelligence varies with race. American history of discrimination against racial minorities and disabled people including the mentally retarded suggest that genetic test may provide scientific evidence to justify discrimination.

People with genes that increase the risk of developing serious condition may face discrimination. Works CitedGehring, Verna V.. Genetic prospects: essays on biotechnology, ethics, and public policy. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2003. Print.Maheu, Louis. Challenging genetic determinism new perspectives on the gene in its multiple environments. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 2011. Print.Schoonmaker, Michele, and Erin Dominique Williams. Genetic testing scientific background and nondiscrimination legislation.

New York: Novinka Books, 2006. Print.