Genetic Privacy, when will it actually be my problem?

Recently while reading the U.S. News I came across an article written by Bernadine Healy, M.D. about a bill currently trying to make its way through Congress. She calls it "the long awaited GINA, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act". I don't know that I agree with her analysis that this is "long awaited". Dr. Healy makes several valid points about the direction that insurance companies could take if they had access to your personal genetic code such as making you pay a higher premium based on the probability you may contract cancer or something equally as devastating. However, one of Dr. Healy's main agendas is bring attention to the fact that a certain senator is trying to stonewall the bill until 2009. Fine, I understand your concern, BUT how many people do you know that are running out to have the extremely expensive mapping of their genes done? She may know a few, but then again we run in very different circles. I don't know that I would have it done even if I could afford it. I think knowing too much about our future restricts us. (Has anyone seen "Paycheck?") And I also understand the need to make a preemptive strike as it were, before genetic discrimination even becomes a factor.

The problem I have is that there are other discrimination and hate issues that I consider a problem NOW that are being ignored. In 1990 Congress passed the Hate Crimes Statistics Act (HCSA) with the hope of enforcing harsher punishments on crimes motivated by race, religion and national origin. Segregation may not be Constitutional but we cannot claim to have eradicated bigotry no matter what the law says. Earlier this year the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 was introduced in Congress. The proposed law would extend federal authority for investigation and prosecution of hate violence to include those crimes based on the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability. Does anyone else see the problem here? I promise that hate crimes have not been restricted just to race, religion and national origin before now. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are not all of the sudden being targeted and this is not a revelation that has been recently obtained. In 1982 the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs was created and in the last 22 years alone there have been over 35,000 documented hate crimes committed based on sexual orientation. I can't even imagine what the actual statistics would be if everything was reported. Good job, way to be on top of things Congress!

I don't care what your views may be on homosexuality, race or religion, we are all human beings and deserve to be treated equally. Discriminating based on any of those is as ridiculous as discriminating based on hair length or the diameter of your wrist.

I applaud Congress for being on top of advancing technology and trying to forsee problems that could be detrimental to society, but maybe they should take a closer look at the here and now and see that discrimination and hate crimes are not just restricted to the things they want to acknowledge. And while they are at it maybe they can get insurance companies to pay for mental health and birth control and maybe even force them to acknowledge that my pre-existing condition is not going to change in the near future and punishing me for something I can't control is a waste of time and just pisses me off.