Showing posts with label legal and ethical dimensions of genetic information. Show all posts
Showing posts with label legal and ethical dimensions of genetic information. Show all posts

Monday, March 25, 2013

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Sequel; New York Times, 3/23/13

Rebecca Skloot, New York Times; The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Sequel: "Imagine if someone secretly sent samples of your DNA to one of many companies that promise to tell you what your genes say about you. That report would list the good news (you’ll probably live to be 100) and the not-so-good news (you’ll most likely develop Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder and maybe alcoholism). Now imagine they posted your genetic information online, with your name on it. Some people may not mind. But I assure you, many do: genetic information can be stigmatizing, and while it’s illegal for employers or health insurance providers to discriminate based on that information, this is not true for life insurance, disability coverage or long-term care. “That is private family information,” said Jeri Lacks-Whye, Lacks’s granddaughter. “It shouldn’t have been published without our consent.”"