By the end of this week, a laboratory will start offering a $2,400 test that tells women whether they are genetically predisposed toward breast cancer. Once again, science is rapidly outpacing society's ability to deal with moral consequences.
Unless laws are enacted that protect the sanctity of life and reflect strong moral values, this technology could allow some to cause great harm.Genetic testing is a positive and promising step toward the discovery and prevention of disease. The Human Genome Project is the government's attempt to identify up to 100,000 genes in the human body and positively identify which diseases each person likely will develop. Such knowledge may be frightening to some, but it may mean the difference between life and death for many people. Once someone knows they likely will develop a disease, they can be alert to early symptoms and practice preventative measures.
But genetic research is no different from nuclear energy, electricity or any other scientific breakthrough. It can be used for bad as well as good. Insurance companies could use genetic predispositions as a reason to refuse coverage, even if those people currently are healthy. Parents may some day want to terminate pregnancies simply because an embryo is predisposed to a disease.
In an age where so-called "suicide doctors" are arguing for the right to determine when a life no longer is worth living, the logical extension of prohibiting all but the most perfect life (according to warped notion of perfection) is not difficult to imagine.
The Genome Project already has started studying ethical and social implications of this new technology. But time is rapidly running out. A study in last week's journal Science found 47 percent of the people asked about genetic diseases on insurance applications were subsequently rejected coverage.
The 105th Congress should begin finding ways to stop this discrimination before it starts in earnest.