Clay Bradshaw
Thompson
English 3-AP
24 February, 2014
Genetic Discrimination in the Hiring Process
In recent years, medical advances have enabled doctors to access our genetic code so that people may be aware as to what diseases they are most likely to be diagnosed with in the future. This is based on a person’s family genetic history which makes it easier to confirm from someone’s genetic code, when the doctors have data to compare results to. Meaning, if a patient’s grandmother had heart disease they would be susceptible to heart disease as well since genetics are passed down from generation to generation. Some employers have taken to getting potential employees tested for this reason. “Every person has dozens of DNA differences” making genetic discrimination slightly hypocritical, due to the possibility that someone who is being insulted could share a close genetic code with the person doing the discrimination (Genetic Information N). Although genetic testing can give valuable information about a person’s health condition, employers shouldn’t consider a possible employee’s genetic information as a viable excuse to not hire them because not only is genetic information based on other people’s results and it doesn’t insure that a person has, or will have, a given condition, but they won’t even consider an employee’s skill set or potential after they learn of the results.
Genetic discrimination has been illegal since November 21, 2009 when the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA, took effect. During the ratification process, Congress almost whole heartedly accepted it since “the House of Representatives supported it 414-1, and the Senate backed it unanimously” during the voting of the bill (Cohen). The specific par...
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...compensated, and now Fabricut is required to post “anti-discrimination notice[s] to employees” to prevent future cases like this within this company (Fabricut).
While genetic discrimination isn’t a big deal at the moment, it is projected to grow exponentially over the next few years since companies have access to these sources. “Genes are a classic immutable characteristic”, similar to skin color, sex, and race (Cohen). Granted it isn’t technically a visible trait like those three examples, genetic structure makes up who you are. It makes up a person’s skin color. It makes up a person’s sex. These unchangeable characteristics are all sources of discrimination, for it makes someone different from everyone else. Since most humans don’t like change, they don’t like things that are different. People just have to learn to accept people for who they are, genetics and all.
Studies to make the process quicker and cleaner are under development.... ... middle of paper ... ... Insurance providers and other holders of genetic information should be prohibited from releasing genetic information (Hudson, 1998). Guidelines like these need to be formed into a federal law that people can pass in one way or another so that we can be protected from the various forms of discrimination that is possible with this kind of information.
“You would really be pretty if you lose weight”, maybe this sounds polite and kind of innocent but the actual tone and deeper meanings are very discriminatory. The Discrimination At Large by Jennifer Coleman is an article where the author demonstrates the price for being obese. Overweight people are being criticized all the time by many people. Moreover, they are now a mockery since people just make fun of them for their amusement. The movie Shallow Hal also shows how if we change our general idea of outer beauty of a person, we could benefit from it. Obesity has been a serious dilemma for the people in America. The society seems to not change their perception about obese people. In addition, people who are usually afraid to say any kind of
In Gattaca, the plot focuses on the ethics, the risks, and the emotional impact of genetic testing in the nearby future. The film was released in the 90s; yet in the present, the film does not give the impression of science fiction. Today, genetic testing is prevalent in many aspects of the scientific community. This paper will describe genetic testing, its purpose, diagnostic techniques that use genetic testing, relating Huntington’s disease to genetic testing, and the pros and cons of genetic testing.
Genetic screening for certain conditions is already a reality, along with some genetic engineering, so human genetic engineering is literally right around the corner. While this technology would be beneficial to some people, for example the prevent of cystic fibrosis, it's also feasible that, in light of the prejudices already rampant in society, people will be discriminated against for their genetics. According to Jeremy Rifkin, part of the problem with biotechnology and genetic engineering is the terminology itself (550). Rather than using the terminology "variation" or "mutatio...
Various people are treated wrongly and unequal due to the information of the differences in their DNA. Inequality among humans is a dangerous aspect of society. For centuries it has been fueled by arrogance and hatred. Michael Kirby, a former Australian jurist, states that the “great dangers from adverse discrimination lie principally in the context of social arrangements which may be affected by knowledge about an individual’s genetic makeup.” Genetic discrimination does not only affect the individual; it affects their family and friends too because “employers can also use DNA information to decide whether to hire or fire workers” (National Human Genome Institute). If the employer decides to not hire the individual, he or she will not be able to provide...
Consistently throughout history people have tried to prove that groups with inborn qualities can either vastly improve or degenerate different races over time. This rhetoric has been proven multiple times throughout the course of the last century throughout the United States and Nazi reigned Germany. Supposedly, this rhetoric has been disproven throughout the United States; however, there are proven accounts that the United States government has recently supported this theory of sterilization of minorities by supporting the eugenics movement was not only in Nazi Germany, but also on United States soil. The topic of improving the genetic make up of different races has not only just become a common theme for many modern day countries to use to make their societies more genetically fit. However, it has adopted the basis for current racism that is clearly apparent in today’s society. If improving genetic fitness was not a concern to past societies, then people, in general would be a lot more open to interracial and cross-cultural relationships rather than completely disregarding the idea of dating someone that is visibly genetically different.
The genetic technology revolution has proved to be both a blessing and a blight. The Human Genome Project is aimed at mapping and sequencing the entire human genome. DNA chips are loaded with information about human genes. The chip reveals specific information about the individuals’ health and genetic makeup (Richmond & Germov 2009).The technology has been described as a milestone by many in that it facilitates research, screening, and treatment of genetic conditions. However, there have been fears that the technology permits a reduction in privacy when the information is disclosed. Many argue that genetic information can also be used unfairly to discriminate against or stigmatize individuals (Willis 2009).
Discrimination still exists in our world. People getting mistreated, bullied, abused, etc. because from where they are born is a serious matter that needs to be change. The characteristics and personality is what people are supposed to see in a person, not their appearance.
Why does racism continue to take place in the United States today? According to the sociology textbook Our Social World, minority groups are ones that differ from the dominant group, which is why they have less power, fewer privileges, and are discriminated against. The textbook also explains how there are numerous ways for dominant and minority groups to interact. Genocide is the killing of the minority group by the dominant group, while pluralism is the complete opposite whereas different ethnic or racial groups accept one another’s beliefs and values, and manage to respect each other. Multiple strategies to cope with prejudice, discrimination, and racism are used by minority groups to deal with their statuses: passing (blending in with dominant groups), acceptance, avoidance, and aggression. In America, racism against minority groups has improved, but is nowhere near ending. To determine people’s opinions on racism and why it exists, I
...etic tests, I believe that both before and after genetic tests individuals should be required to meet with genetic counselors that help explain the test and interpret the results. Finally, although legislation preventing insurance and employment discrimination based on a person's genetic makeup already exists in many states, I think that additional laws need to be enacted that deny insurance companies and employers access to genetic information without a person's consent. As Matt Ridley (1999) states, a person's genome is his or her "own property," and people should be given complete freedom to decide to whom to disclose their genetic information (p. 269).
In today’s world, people are learning a great deal in the rapidly growing and developing fields of science and technology. Almost every day, an individual can see or hear about new discoveries and advances in these fields of study. One science that is rapidly progressing is genetic testing; a valuable science that promotes prevention efforts for genetically susceptible people and provides new strategies for disease management. Unnaturally, and morally wrong, genetic testing is a controversial science that manipulates human ethics. Although genetic testing has enormous advantages, the uncertainties of genetic testing will depreciate our quality of life, and thereby result in psychological burden, discrimination, and abortion.
If a limit is not set between using genetic engineering for treatment and using genetic engineering for enhancement, then many parents could use it purely for eugenic purposes. This could cause ethical concerns but social concerns as well. If this was allowed to occur, it would also give the rich even more advantages than they already have to begin with and drive the social classes even farther apart. The use of genetic engineering may also lead to genetic discrimination. As in the movie Gattaca, a person could easily get a print-out of his or her genotype, this information could then be used by schools, employers, companies, and others; giving rise to a new form of discrimination based on a person’s genetic profile. As the world is already full of discrimination, genetic engineering would even increase the numbers of discrimination against people.
Discrimination is known to exist in all workplaces, sometimes it is too subtle to notice, and other times it is exceedingly obvious. It is known that everyone subconsciously discriminates, dependant on their own beliefs and environments that surround them. However, discrimination can be either positive or negative in their results, and sometimes discrimination is a necessary part of life.
First of all, I want to start by saying that I 'm not discriminating the disabled community, but this is a very large number that could possibly be diminished with the help of genetic testing. (1) I believe that there is nothing wrong with testing the genes of an unborn child to possibly determine if it could develop a genetic disorder in the future. One of the advantages that genetic testing provides is that the parents could now be informed of the situation, and keep track of their unborn child 's health. I 'm sure those parents are pleased with this technology, and the chances to be able to keep track of their baby. This a baby, and is something very precious, and valuable, and I believe that parents want to keep track of anything that may happen with the unborn child. I 'm sure that a large amount of people would agree would agree that they don 't want to suddenly take the hard hit. When the news is presented in the delivery room. This serves more as an advantage than a disadvantage, due to the fact parents. Pull be more prepared, or possibly have the option to abort it. This is a right that the parents should have regardless of the opposing side arguments towards it. Im a hundred percent sure that the opposing side has very strong arguments towards genetics testing, and one of the main ones is "playing God." The opposing side believed that some things in
Prejudice and discrimination have both been prevalent throughout human history. Prejudice deals with the inflexible and irrational attitudes and opinions that are held by others of one group against those of another. Discrimination on the other hand refers to the behaviors directed against another group. Prejudiced individuals have preconceived beliefs about groups of people or cultural practices. There are both positive and negative forms of prejudice, however, the negative form of prejudice leads to discrimination. Individuals that practice discrimination do so to protect opportunities for themselves, by denying access to those whom they believe do not deserve the same treatment as everyone else. An example of discrimination based on prejudice involves the Jews. “Biased sentiments and negative stereotypes of Jews have been a part of Western tradition for centuries and, in fact, have been stronger and more vicious in Europe than in the United States. For nearly two millennia, European Jews have been chastised and persecuted as the “killers of Christ” and stereotyped as materialistic moneylenders and crafty business owners (Healey, p.65). The prejudice against these groups led to the discrimination against them.