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A vote in Canada's Parliament to approve a genetic privacy bill is creating a self-inflicted political headache for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government—and could result in a relatively rare and unusual court case.
The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act, originally introduced in 2013 by now-retired Liberal Senator James Cowan, is aimed at preventing the use of information generated by genetic tests to deny health insurance, employment, and housing, or to influence child custody and adoption decisions. It calls for fines of up to $740,000 and prison terms of up to 5 years for anyone who requires any Canadian to undergo a genetic test, or to disclose test results, in order to obtain insurance or enter into legal or business relationships. The bill bars discrimination on the grounds of genetics, and the sharing of genetic test results without written consent (with exemptions for researchers and doctors).
Supporters said the law is needed to encourage Canadians to make greater use of genetic testing. Currently, they claimed, many Canadians refuse genetic tests in the course of care or clinical trials because they fear insurers or others could use the results against them. But opponents of the bill, including health and life insurers, argued a ban would increase treatment and insurance costs. Instead, insurers support a voluntary code regulating the use of genetic tests in underwriting life insurance policies; it would allow insurers to require tests only for policies worth more than $185,500. Trudeau's Liberal Party cabinet also formally opposed the measure, with Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould arguing that the bill is unconstitutional because it intrudes on powers given to Canada's 13 provincial and territorial governments to regulate insurance.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 12 2017, @09:31PM (6 children)
How close we are to the sort of eugenics database wet dream that the Nazis and many white Americans (if not Canadians) were dreaming of in the 1920s-50s.
The only reason the shit went out of style was because of the bad PR the Nazis created for it, otherwise we very well might have had a far more selective populace than we already did (As an example they were forcibly sterilizing anybody considered 'retarded' in the US from the 30s until the 70s at least)
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Sunday March 12 2017, @09:44PM (3 children)
Only that much more reason we need to resist DNA collection harder now. It's far more worthwhile to fear than a lot of the feelgoods people are freaking about now. And that really makes me sad, because I think we could do great (in the genuine sense, not the Orange sense) things with such things, if we could just drop that impulse to be shitbags about it. But I think we're far closer to going wrong with it than we are right at this point in time, so I err on the side of caution, yet again.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 12 2017, @10:07PM (2 children)
That might be the case, but it might also not be the case.
(Score: 2) by Immerman on Monday March 13 2017, @03:04PM (1 child)
Some people say the sun rises in the east, some say in the west. The truth is probably somewhere in between.
Right?
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Monday March 13 2017, @04:56PM
Well...actually it is true that the truth is somewhere in between...even on the equator the exact direction at which the sun rises depends on the time of year, though in parts of the world (I think it's the definition of tropics) the sun does rise in the East twice a year.
That "The sun rises in the East" is a conventional truth rather than an actual truth.
Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Sunday March 12 2017, @11:42PM (1 child)
Some context for the AC's post:
A Brutal Chapter In North Carolina's Eugenics Past [npr.org]
Payments Start For N.C. Eugenics Victims, But Many Won't Qualify [npr.org]
Justice for North Carolina Eugenics Program Victims: Forced Sterilization in North Carolina [ncaj.com]
On A 'Eugenics Registry,' A Record Of California's Thousands Of Sterilizations [npr.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday March 13 2017, @07:09AM
Unfortunately, Canada had eugenics [wikipedia.org] as well.