Today is DNA day, the 55th anniversary since James Watson and Francis Crick published their article on the structure of DNA and introduced us to the now widely known symbol, the Double Helix.
Today is also the day Congress has voted to ban genetic discrimination. The President is expected to sign it into law.
While I’ve not read the actual content of the law yet I suspect there are few bones thrown in to give the insurance companies protection from pre-existing conditions. Which is to be expected in this political climate.
Unluckily discrimination still happens every single day.
Current US Law protects against the following types of discrimination*:
See http://www.eeoc.gov for explanations of each of these definitions.
Add in Genetics to this list and on the surface it seems pretty comprehensive these days. But is it really?
US Law needs to protect against ALL types of discrimination, including those not thought of before. Such as Transgender status, Planet of Origin, or amount of midiclorines in the blood. People can only be judged suitable based on their abilities as required by the situation, and/or as modified by circumstances that are directly related to the situation.
For instance in a job interview a prospective employee could only be judged on factors such as job experience, education in the field, and ability to do the job. In housing, landlords would approve tenants only on their ability to pay rent, criminal record, number and type of pets. Other areas would be regulated in the same route.
While hard to prove, Individuals who felt that the law had been violated could approach an independent group or bureau of the Government who would look into the claims and decide if there was justification to advance it to the Courts. After a number of complaints against a certain employer or landlord for instance would be tallied and investigated further.
While that may not help the original people, remember the goal here is to help the maximum number of people possible.
*Taken from US Equal Employment Opportunity Commision
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