U.S. President Signs Law Banning Genetic Discrimination

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - U.S. President George Bush has signed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) into law on Wednesday, hoping to avoid future discrimination based on a person's biological composition.

The law "protects our citizens from having genetic information misused, and this bill does so without undermining the basic premise of the insurance industry," Bush said during the signing ceremony at the Oval Office.

While the bill prevents discrimination in the workplace, it also prohibits health insurance providers from "adjusting premium or contribution amounts for a group on the basis of genetic information."

According to the National Institute of Health's National Human Genome Research Institute, "legislation that gives comprehensive protection against all forms of genetic discrimination is necessary to ensure that biomedical research continues to advance. Similarly, it believes that such legislation is necessary so that patients are comfortable availing themselves to genetic diagnostic tests."