Congress Bans DNA Discrimination

Yesterday, Congress put the finishing touches on HR 493 and sent it to President Bush. This is one of the most important anti-discrimination bills in years. It prevents discrimination against people by using their DNA. Bush is expected to sign the bill (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) into law.

For many years in this country, it has been against the law to discriminate on the basis of race and gender. Head of the National Human Genome Research Institute Francis Collins said, "Your skin color, your gender, all of those are part of your DNA. Shouldn't the rest of your DNA also fall under that protective umbrella?"

The new law will prevent employers and insurance companies from using DNA information as a basis for hiring, promotion, coverage or setting of premiums. In the past, many people have been afraid of being tested for DNA predisposition to certain things like cancer or sickle cell anemia. They were worried the information would be used against them by their employer or insurance company.

To their credit, both political parties worked together to pass the new DNA protections. It passed the Senate 95-0, and the House 414-1. The only person to vote against the bill was Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). As we know down here in Texas, Paul has always been a maverick and a bit of a nutjob, but I'm a little surprised even he would vote in favor of discrimination.

It's a rare occurence for Republicans and Democrats to come together like this to support anything. That they were able to do so in this case just shows the universal importance of this bill.