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19 Geo. Mason U. C.R. L.J. 311 (2008-2009)
New Frontiers for Genetic Privacy Law: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

handle is hein.journals/gmcvr19 and id is 315 raw text is: NEW FRONTIERS FOR GENETIC PRIVACY LAW: THE GENETIC INFORMATION NONDISCRIMINATION ACT OF 2008 Daniel Schlein* INTRODUCTION The completion of the human genome map in 2003 generated expectations of new understanding of a broad range of diseases and potential cures and treatments.' Commercially available genetic tests are proliferating rapidly and are already available for more than 1,500 diseases in 1,254 clinical laboratories, with an estimated 1,000 more moving through the clinical testing phase.' Technological advances in genetic sequencing raise the real possibility that within the next 10 years the cost of compiling an individual's complete genome will be driven down to $1,000 or less.3 While current genetic procedures are now applicable to about 2% of the general population, novel applica- tions of existing technologies and new techniques in development for common disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and mental illnesses could have implications for more than 60%.' This growing knowledge of humans' genetic makeup and employ- ers' potential access to it have accentuated longstanding concerns * J.D., George Washington University, M.Litt., University of Oxford, B.A., Wesleyan Uni- versity. The author, an employment law attorney, workplace investigator, and mediator in New York City, may be reached at schleinlaw@nyc.rr.com and gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Michael Schrier, Darin Bartram, Kerry Sorvino, John Herbert, and Glenn Busch for their help in reviewing drafts of this article. © Daniel Schlein (2008) 1 See, e.g., Press Release, U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs., Nat'l Insts. of Health, International Consortium Completes Human Genome Project (Apr. 14, 2003), available at http:l/www.nih.gov/news/pr/apr2003/nhgri-14.htm. 2 SEC'Y'S ADVISORY COMM. ON GENETICS, HEALTH & Soc'Y, U.S. DEP'T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVS., U.S. SYs. OF OVERSIGHT OF GENETIC TESTING: A RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE OF THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 39 (2008), available at http://www4. od.nih.gov/oba/SACGHS/reports/SACGHS-oversight-report.pdf; Nat'l Office of Pub. Health Genomics, Genetic Testing (2007), http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/gtesting.htm. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has only formally approved several dozen types of genetic tests. 3 The Threat of Genetic Discrimination to the Promise of Personalized Medicine: Hearing on H.R. 493 Before the Subcomm. on Health of the H. Comm. on Ways & Means, 110th Cong. (2007) (statement of Francis Collins, Dir., Nat'l Human Genome Research Inst., U.S. Dep't of Health & Human Servs.), available at http://www.hhs.gov/aslltestify/2007/03/t2OO70314a.html. 4 SEC'Y's ADVISORY COMM. ON GENETICS, HEALTH, & SOC'Y, supra note 2, at 60.

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