In 2008 the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) act was passed into law after 13 years of debate in Congress. Describe what genetic testing is, what can be discovered about an individual through genetic testing, and what purpose it plays in m

Running head : GINA

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 : Current Discrimination Protection

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Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 : Current Discrimination Protection

The genetic information of an individual serves as a code or a sequence that leads to the expression of various characteristics , ranging from height to the type of an individual 's ear lobe . Such information can also provide insight into possible errors in the code or sequence which may or may not lead to harmful effects . This concept is probably the

br basis of the development of genetic testing . It is generally defined as a tool for reading the genetic information of an individual and searching for possible defects or anomalies in the sequence . The various procedures present for genetic testing may serve either a confirmatory or a predictive tool for disease detection (National Library of Medicine [NLM] , 2009 . The tests screen for various genetic problems that lead to serious diseases such as Alzheimer 's disease and certain forms of autism (Human Genome Project [HGP] , 2008 . With this in mind , it is easily understood why it is considered as a valuable tool in medicine . However just like any type of information , the genetic information and genetic testing results acquired from an individual can play both a positive and a negative role

It is evident how the genetic information of an individual can be a very important tool in medicine however , it is not unlikely that various groups may easily use this genetic information in...