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May 17, 2008 12:42:54 AM CDT

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Senate Passes Bill Banning Genetic Bias  

Posted Apr 24, 08 5:20 PM CDT in Science & Health,  Politics    Most Covered

(newser) – The Senate unanimously approved a bill today banning discrimination by employers and health insurers based on the results of genetic tests, the Los Angeles Times reports. Senators hope the measure will encourage testing for those who have abstained out of fear of professional or financial repercussions. The bill is expected to pass easily in the House, and President Bush supports it.

"We are on the threshold of a new era, because for the first time, we act to prevent discrimination before it takes hold," said Republican Olympia Snowe, an early sponsor. "It's the first civil rights bill of the new century of life sciences," Democrat Ted Kennedy added. The bill covers only health insurance, not life or long-term care coverage.

Source Los Angeles Times

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Senate Passes Bill Banning Genetic Bias
U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, left, R-Maine, talks to a crowd gathered at a local Republican caucus in Lewiston, Maine, on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2008.   (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)
Senate Passes Bill Banning Genetic Bias
The Senate passed a bill banning genetic discrimination on Thursday, April 24th, 2008.   ()
Senate Passes Bill Banning Genetic Bias
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass, speaks at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, N.M., in this Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008 file photo.   (AP Photo/Toby Jorrin)
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Congress  • House of Representatives  • DNA  • discrimination  • genetic testing  • genetic discrimination


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