Genetic Discrimination Means the Choice Between Life and Life Insurance
By Shimon Koffler Fogel and Bev Heim-Myers,
Huffington Post [Canada]
| 12. 12. 2014
Untitled Document
Protecting members of our society from discrimination based on the colour of their skin, ethnicity, or ancestry is a fundamental Canadian value. Unfortunately, Canadians across the country currently face real as well as potential future discrimination based on their DNA. Genetic discrimination is a reality in Canada, with out-dated laws enabling insurance companies and employers to target individuals and families based on the results of genetic testing.
To date, science has outpaced legislation in Canada, despite broad, multi-partisan consensus supporting action to stop genetic discrimination. Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged to "prevent employers and insurance companies from discriminating against Canadians on the basis of genetic testing" in the last Speech from the Throne; an NDP Private Member's Bill has been introduced in the House of Commons to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to prohibit genetic discrimination; and the Canadian Coalition for Genetic Fairness testified this week at the Senate human rights committee regarding Liberal Senator James Cowan's Bill S-201: An Act to Prohibit and Prevent Genetic Discrimination.
In the early 1990s when the Global Genome...
Related Articles
By Yelena Biberman and Jonathan D. Moreno, Bioethics Forum | 04.16.2024
A quiet biological revolution in warfare is underway. The genome is emerging as a new domain of conflict. The level of destruction that only nuclear weapons could previously achieve is fast becoming as accessible as a cyberattack.
Now for the...
By Jorge Barrera and Rachel Houlihan, CBC | 04.09.2024
A Canadian DNA laboratory knowingly delivered prenatal paternity test results that routinely identified the wrong biological fathers — ruling out the real dads — and left a trail of shattered lives around the globe, a CBC News investigation has found...
By Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres, First Monday | 04.14.2024
The stated goal of many organizations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), an imagined system with more intelligence than anything we have ever seen. Without seriously questioning whether such a system can...
By Carey Gillan, UnSpun | 03.18.2024
A Mexican standoff with the United States turned into a Mexican smack-down this month with the release of Mexico’s formal rebuttal to US efforts to overturn limits Mexico has ordered on the use of genetically modified (GM) corn and the...