http://www.dotplanet.com/news/article.asp?aid=687429 Mass. passes strong genetic privacy law Thursday, August 03, 2000 2:32:06 PM ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BOSTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) - The Massachusetts Senate Thursday completed legislative action on what is considered among the strongest genetic privacy laws in the nation. While not giving privacy advocates all they wanted, the measure establishes strict prohibitions against genetic discrimination in banking, housing, health insurance and employment. It also gives patients almost total control over who can view their genetic test results. The measure requires written consent from a patient before anyone other than attending physicians can view the test results. Life insurance companies had argued against the bill, saying it would deprive them of an important tool to calculate the risk of covering people. Lawmakers addressed such concerns by not giving people permission to block life insurers from accessing genetic test results. Instead, a commission would be set up to study the issue for two years. Genetic tests may one day be able to predict a person's susceptibility to certain diseases and personality disorders, and are already able to identify people at risk of getting certain cancers and some other illnesses. The Boston Globe said privacy advocates are concerned the increasing use of such tests could result in discrimination against people viewed as costly medical risks, potentially disruptive or otherwise undesirable. The legislation, the result of a five-year effort by a broad coalition of groups, was approved earlier this week by the state House and by the Senate Thursday afternoon. It was not immediately clear whether Gov. Paul Cellucci would sign it, but several agencies in his administration have been pushing for its passage. Senate Majority Leader Linda J. Melconian, D-Springfield, said lawmakers were spurred to action on the bill by the announcement in July that much of the human genetic code had been mapped. "It became pretty clear this was serious business, that it was 21st-century technology that needed consumer protections," she said. She said the measure "sets the prototype for the rest of the nation" to ban genetic discrimination. -- Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved. -- *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the source. *** ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The end is in the means as the tree is in the seed. - Mahatma Ghandi ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Abraham Lincoln, letter to Wm. F. 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