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Even a decade ago, the idea of genetic discrimination sounded like science fiction. Today, it’s a reality Canadian law could soon address.
It is increasingly easy to have your personal genome sequenced and analyzed for genetic markers. There are now relatively simple tests that can determine if an individual is likely to develop Alzheimer’s, certain kinds of cancer, or inherited conditions like sickle cell anemia or cystic fibrosis. That kind of information could be very powerful in the hands of the right person, or the wrong person.
That’s why Canada’s senate is studying a bill that would make it illegal to discriminate on someone based on their genetic information.
Denying someone disability insurance because they have a genetic marker for Parkinson’s disease? Illegal. Denying someone health insurance because they have a genetic marker for a rare heart condition? Illegal. Or at least that’s how it ought to be, the bill argues.
The bill would also make it illegal to force someone to undergo a genetic test, or submit the results of a genetic test, before entering into any kind...