Senate passes bill banning genetic discrimination

[Angel Heart]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-genes25apr25,1,3713979.story

Senate passes bill banning genetic discrimination
The legislation, which the House is expected to approve quickly and President Bush has promised to sign, would prevent information gleaned from genetic testing to be used against people.
By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
April 25, 2008

WASHINGTON -- The vast promise of an era of personalized medicine based on genetic testing long has been haunted by a disturbing possibility: The same data that could alert people to serious medical problems might be used to deny them jobs or insurance coverage.

But Thursday, the Senate voted 95 to 0 to outlaw such discrimination, with the House expected to add its approval quickly.

The bill, which President Bush has agreed to sign, does more than protect those who undergo genetic testing: It marks a significant milestone in the effort to develop a 21st century architecture of laws to govern the revolutionary changes sweeping science and medicine.

"It's the first civil rights bill of the new century of life sciences," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said. "We made sure today that our laws reflect the [scientific] advances we are making."

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[AllieBaba]

It's a bad day for insurance companies....which means it's a good day for the rest of humanity.

 

[manifold]

It's a bad day for insurance companies....which means it's a good day for the rest of humanity.

My heart wants to agree with you, but my head just can't shake the old adage that two wrongs don't make a right.