Staying ahead of the double helix
By Sujatha Byravan,
The Hindu
| 03. 03. 2018
The Delhi High Court recently ruled against discrimination in health insurance by United India Insurance Company involving a person with a heart condition which was perceived to be a genetic disorder. The court held, “Discrimination in health insurance against individuals based on their genetic disposition or genetic heritage, in the absence of appropriate genetic testing and laying down of intelligible differentia, is unconstitutional.”
While the specific features of this case may depend on clauses in the original policy, this is a critical court decision around the broader question of discrimination on the basis of one’s genetic predisposition. As technology for genetic testing and tools to gather family history and compile them in databases become cheaper and more widespread, it becomes imperative that due social and ethical consideration be given to genetic discrimination as the implications are far-reaching and can affect everyone.
Questionable assumptions
Genetic discrimination (GD) is understood to be differential treatment of those not showing symptoms but who are nevertheless treated differently on the basis of any real or assumed genetic characteristics. We must recognise that GD is...
Related Articles
By Ian Sample, The Guardian | 07.04.2024
Biological models of human embryos that can develop heartbeats, spinal cords and other distinctive features will be governed by a code of practice in Britain to ensure that researchers work on them responsibly.
Made from stem cells, they mimic, to...
By Michael Hiltzik, LA Times | 07.02.2024
Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash
Second only to the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday on when presidents are immune from criminal prosecution, the biggest case of the court’s recently completed session involved the age-old conflict between judges and government regulators...
By Shivam Jadaun and Shivani, JURISTnews | 06.27.2024
Image by European Council from Flickr
In some European Union nations, the forced sterilisation of people with disabilities is still a widespread and concerning practice that blatantly violates their fundamental rights and human dignity. The scope of forced sterilisation in...
By Stephen Groves, Associated Press | 06.13.2024
Photo by Ajay Parthasarathy on Unsplash
Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would make it a right nationwide for women to access in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer forced a vote on the matter...