Image of genome sequence map

Legislating Genetic Non-Discrimination: What Is GINA and Why Does It Matter?

By John Novembre, Mason Kortz, Kaitlyn Dowling

In a new, year-long series on Bill of Health, we’ll be exploring the legal scholarship on genetic non-discrimination. We’ll talk more about GINA and state laws protecting citizens from genetic discrimination. We hope these posts help shed light on this complex and ever-more-relevant area for legal scholars, policymakers, and the public at large.

What if the hidden code underwriting your humanity could be used to prevent you from getting approved for a mortgage? Or siphoned you into a different classroom from your peers? What if the specter of an illness — possibly years away from manifesting — kept you from getting a job? The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act is a law passed in 2008 aimed at protecting Americans from discrimination based on information gleaned from genetic testing. With increasing access to genetic counseling in a traditional clinical setting, as well as the growth in popularity of direct-to-consumer genetic testing (like 23andMe), GINA is more relevant now than ever.

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