GINA, Genetic Discrimination, and Genomic Medicine

Has the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act succeeded in its twin missions of preventing discrimination and alleviating public fears about the potential for discrimination on the basis of genetic test results? That's a difficult question to answer. In 2008, after 13 years of advocacy by the genetics community and U.S. lawmakers, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was signed into law. GINA is the first U.S. federal antidiscrimination statute crafted to address an area where there was no well-documented history of widespread discrimination and no stigmatized group to protect. The statute's language is unusual, proposing not only “to fully protect the public from discrimination” but also to “allay their concerns about the potential for discrimination, thereby allowing individuals to take advantage of genetic testing, technologies, research and new therapies.” GINA was initially lauded as a huge legislative . . .