First introduced in 1995 by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY), the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act was placed on the Senate Legislative Calendar on March 29. With over 1200 genetic tests in existence today (growth from just 100 genetic tests 10 years ago), increased genetic information will become accessible through testing. It would follow that legal protection is necessary so Americans can be free to put their health concerns first without fear of discrimination, however, the bill has failed to make it through Congress since its introduction nearly 12 years ago.
Read more about why we need a bill to protect against genetic discrimination
here. You can also read more about how genetic discrimination affects lives: check out the
testimony of Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the National Human Genome Research Institute before the House Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Energy and Commerce.
posted by Alexandra at 4/13/2007 11:04:00 AM 
