The Soul of Biotech

The EEOC has invited the public to comment on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). GINA was passed in the spring of 2008 as a way to bar employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of genetic information. GINA also prevents healthcare insurers from discriminating based on genetic information.

GINA is an important step forward, as mentioned by Wayne Rosenkrans at the HBS Healthcare Conference. There are two obvious deficiencies in the current law:

1. There are no restrictions on life insurance companies. A life insurance company could still deny coverage (or even revoke coverage) if it learned of your genetic predisposition to a certain disease state.

2. There are no restrictions on the genetic research activities of personal genomics companies such as 23andMe and Navigenics. Privacy and security regulations are still up to the individual company and the license agreement it enters into with its customers.

Here’s to hoping that activists will take the opportunity to help shape GINA into a law that will cement the foundation of the ethical use of genetic data for the new millennium.