Status of Federal Legislation Against Genetic Discrimination
In 2008, Congress passed into law a bill making genetic discrimination illegal. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, also referred to as GINA, is a federal law that protects Americans from being treated unfairly because of differences in their DNA that may affect their health. The new law prevents discrimination from health insurers and employers. (For more information, visit the National Human Genome Research Institute's Genetic Discrimination fact sheet.) Many states have also enacted some form of nondiscrimination legislation with regard to a person's genetic profile, but the laws are quite varied in their focus and scope. For a listing of discrimination legislation regarding genetic profiling by state, visit the National Human Genome Research Institute at www.genome.gov.
