Genetic Discrimination

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Creator

I oh so insurance agents have access to this infomation...... so the employer can just check or something like that.

So for a GATTACA or Alpha Omega scenerio, genetic privacy is completely invaded such that we have insurance agents, employers and the like having easy access to a person's records.

Right?

And no, I don't think insurance people have that access in full yet. But there are cases going through the court system that indicates that they may have at least some access to it, and it's been caught early. As to whether it will have the kibosh put on it through this... I doubt it. They'll always be looking for a way around it, to save money. And, yes, eventually at least, employers will have access to that via the insurance agencies and the medicos they pay for. However honest a doctor is, most hospitals these days are businesses, and will not be above selling information or access to information if it is legal ... even barely so.

[Creator]

I was asking apart of a government that made genetic recording compulsory, what other factor could lead to widespread genetic discrimination.

[j. d. worthington]

Hmmm. Well, one possibility is increased pressure to provide genetic information before marriage. Didn't use to have to have blood tests, but in most places that's compulsory now, for health reasons, if nothing else. But if you have a populace where people want to know what sort of genetic material their mate has, to gauge what kind of offspring might be produced (or if they're looking at someone who may outlive them or will keel over early...)

The possibility that employers will indeed get things pushed through allowing them to discriminate for purposes of economic advantages. Research linking certain types of genetic makeup with certain mental disorders predisposing to criminal behavior.... Alcoholism has a large genetic component, as does most substance abuse, so I can see any number of factors that would play in there.

The thing is, eventually, this sort of information will be as easy of access as numbers and addresses, or the information encoded on your drivers' licenses, are now. That's almost inevitable. And that means that anyone who has machinery to read that encoded information has access to it, from the police, to employers, to dating services, to credit card companies, in time....

[Creator]

like putting this info into identity cards?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Creator

like putting this info into identity cards?

Oh, that one is almost certain to happen.

[Creator]

oh dear..... :[ Soon GATTACA or Alpha Omega might happen

Nvm thank you j. d. worthington for this wonderful session..... look out for Alpha Omega soon... IN the meantime I will look into Gundam Seed and GATTACA and see what can be improved.... thanks a lot for enlightening me....

[Dave]

Creator, just do a search with Google for "Eugenics". I just did this and was shocked. The first hit is a Wikipeadia article. Eugenics as a philosophy is much older than the Nazis party, it also had much scientific backing, but I assumed that that was now discredited. I was wrong, the rest of the page are people actively promoting Eugenics. There looks like a huge movement for this among fundamentalist religious groups, especially in the USA. When you consider how quickly these kinds of groups are growing today, this is quite worrying to me. (It certainly puts the Mormon's (LDS) odd behaviour of baptising all their dead ancestors into the shade.)

[j. d. worthington]

Dave, was this part of the article you cite?

Eugenics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

That bit about Graham's project... my gawd!

[Creator]

Omg!!!!!

[Creator]

NOw will have another factor in this whirlpool of terror.

[Creator]

And kinda explains that the rebellion in Alpha Omega has advanced technology, well cause 45% of its population had Autism or Autism/Normal Hybrids.... or geniuses.

[Creator]

ok ..... Looks like this problem was actually very very old...... I believe we all still have a lot to learn

[Creator]

But how is this related to genetic discrimination?

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Creator

But how is this related to genetic discrimination?

Eh? Eugenics? Simple. You pick for desired traits, you encourage the breeding (or even enforce by law or government programs as happened with the Nazis, for instance) according to those traits you desire, and discourage (including enforced sterilization) those you don't consider "desirable" ... whether that be a physical or mental trait. I'd call that genetic discrimination of a high order... wouldn't you?

[Creator]

Understand now...... Thank you very much. Looks like it will take everyone to control this power or completely eradicate this desire to make designer babies.