Genetic Tests Can Harm as Well as Help

Genetic tests may bring hope, inspire fear

There are so many ways that genetic testing has helped us as a society and as a race, we can cure new diseases and dectect many others before they show any outward symptoms. However, in a day and age where a DNA test can be obtained without the subject's knowledge and at very low costs there is growing fear that a new kind of profiling will emerge, genetic profiling. The fact that this is a real threat can be very disconcerting. Should health insurance companies be allowed to screen applicants and deny them coverage if they are genetically disposed to cancer or heart disease? Should an employer be allowed to screen potential employees and hire them or deny them employment based on their genetic disposition to intelligence or health problems? These are the questions we all need to ask ourselves as we take steps forward with this new science.