Problems of practice and principle if centring law reform on the concept of genetic discrimination

2004 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 365-380
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
Genetic Discrimination ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Legislative Reform ◽  
Genetic Interpretation ◽  
Genetic Science ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Problems Of Practice ◽  
Do So

AbstractAdvances in genetic science are increasing the significance of genetic information within the contractual environment. While there may be an obligation upon governments to respond to this trend a number of problems may be associable with any attempt to do so that is centred on the concept of genetic discrimination as such. An attempt to exclusively limit regulatory reform to the acquisition and use of specifically genetic information may prove ultimately indefensible: the nature of genetic information is likely to render any such reform either ineffective or unworkable in practice or prove it arbitrary in principle.This position may be defended through a sustained look at what might conceivably be understood by the term 'genetic discrimination'. The term may, broadly speaking, be understood to refer to one of three kinds of discrimination. Tracing the conceptual contours of genetic discrimination in a primary, secondary and tertiary sense helps to illustrate potential regulatory difficulties of both principle and practice.If the identified practical problems are to be avoided then lines must be drawn not between the three 'kinds' of genetic discrimination described but rather through them. However, drawing a line through a particular concept of genetic discrimination (and of genetic information) involves undeniably excluding certain genetic information from the scope of the regulation.If an unblinking focus upon the concept of genetic information per se demonstrates the limits of this concept as a focus of legislative reform then questions are raised as to the significance of 'genetic' interpretation to the raison d'être of regulation. I conclude by proposing that, while advances in genetic science may provide the motivation, the most appropriate target of reform may not indeed be genetic information per se at all.

Genetic Privacy Laws and Patients' Fear of Discrimination by Health Insurers: The View from Genetic Counselors

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Hall ◽  
Stephen S. Rich
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Genetic Information ◽  
Federal Law ◽  
Genetic Privacy ◽  
Genetic Tests ◽  
Group Health ◽  
Privacy Laws ◽  
Similar Legislation ◽  
Do So ◽  
Health Insurers

Since 1991, over half the states have enacted laws that restrict or prohibit insurers’ use of genetic information in pricing, issuing, or structuring health insurance. Wisconsin was the first state to do so, in 1991, followed by Ohio in 1993, California and Colorado in 1994, and then several more states a year in each of the next five years. Similar legislation has been pending in Congress for several years. Also, a 1996 federal law known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) prohibits group health insurers from applying “preexisting condition” exclusions to genetic conditions that are indicated solely by genetic tests and not by any actual symptoms.

Legislating for a Market Economy in China

2007 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 567-585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald C. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Market Economy ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
Business Organizations ◽  
Top Down ◽  
National Legislation ◽  
Chinese Law ◽  
Legal Structure ◽  
Secured Transactions ◽  
Do So

AbstractSince the early 1990s, China has come a long way in legislating the foundational rules for its reformed economy. Virtually all of the important areas – contracts, business organizations, securities, bankruptcy and secured transactions, to name a few – are now covered by national legislation as well as lower-level regulations. Yet an important feature of a legal structure suited to a market economy is missing: the ability of the system to generate from below solutions to problems not adequately dealt with by existing legislation. The top-down model that has dominated Chinese law reform efforts to date can only do so much. What is needed now is a more welcoming attitude to market-generated solutions to the gaps and other problems that will invariably exist in legislation. The state's distrust of civil-society institutions and other bottom-up initiatives suggests, however, that this different approach will not come easily.

scholarly journals Genetic discrimination: emerging ethical challenges in the context of advancing technology

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Riley Chapman ◽  
Kripa Sanjay Mehta ◽  
Brendan Parent ◽  
Arthur L Caplan
Keyword(s):  
Health Insurance ◽  
Genetic Testing ◽  
Genetic Information ◽  
Predictive Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Genetic Discrimination ◽  
Ethical Challenges ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Discrimination In Employment

Abstract Genetic testing is becoming more widespread, and its capabilities and predictive power are growing. In this paper, we evaluate the ethical justifications for and strength of the US legal framework that aims to protect patients, research participants, and consumers from genetic discrimination in employment and health insurance settings in the context of advancing genetic technology. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) and other laws prohibit genetic and other health-related discrimination in the United States, but these laws have significant limitations, and some provisions are under threat. If accuracy and predictive power increase, specific instances of use of genetic information by employers may indeed become ethically justifiable; however, any changes to laws would need to be adopted cautiously, if at all, given that people have consented to genetic testing with the expectation that there would be no genetic discrimination in employment or health insurance settings. However, if our society values access to healthcare for both the healthy and the sick, we should uphold strict and broad prohibitions against genetic and health-related discrimination in the context of health insurance, including employer-based health insurance. This is an extremely important but often overlooked consideration in the current US debate on healthcare.

Bait pricing: evaluating the success of regulatory reform in advertising

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 333-345
Author(s):  
Valerie Kupke ◽  
Peter Rossini ◽  
Paul Kershaw
Keyword(s):  
Real Estate ◽  
Home Ownership ◽  
Regulatory Reform ◽  
The State ◽  
Percentage Change ◽  
Price Difference ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legislative Reform ◽  
Market Values ◽  
Before And After

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the effectiveness of this legislative reform in the state of South Australia (SA) through an examination of the relationship between listed or advertised price and transaction prices before and after the changes in regulation. Between 2000 and 2008, legislative changes took place throughout Australia to make real-estate transactions more transparent and to deal with misleading conduct by real-estate agents. The practice of “charm” or “bait” pricing was targeted. This denotes the under-quoting of estimated selling prices in real-estate sale advertisements which can be considered deceptive or even fraudulent. Design/methodology/approach – The study area is Adelaide, the state capital of SA and includes analysis of first and last advertised prices and eventual selling price for > 120,000 residential sales transactions over a nine-year period between 2003 and 2011. The analysis to test these hypotheses included, first, a descriptive evaluation of the percentage price difference over time and a spatial breakdown of mean percentage price difference before and after legislation. Second, for each hypothesis, the change was tested by measuring the variance of the percentage change, with significance established through the Levene and Brown–Forsythe tests, rather than by the mean percentage change. Findings – The results, both descriptive and statistical, support the effectiveness of the reform in legislation. Research limitations/implications – The study has application in terms of agents as social gatekeepers and confirms the role of regulation to ensure market values are achieved and consumers not disadvantaged. With friction in the market, imperfect information and the possible behavioural responses of land agents, there may be incomplete market correction of underpricing strategies. This paper confirms the effectiveness of one such market intervention. Social implications – Some half a million dwellings are purchased in Australia every year. Annually, in the state of SA, some 53,000 dwellings are financed to be purchased or built. These levels of purchase reflect national home ownership rates of about 69 per cent, with some 33 per cent of Australians owning their houses outright and a growing number, some 36 per cent, owners with a mortgage. Australian households also move house relatively frequently. In 2008, 43 per cent of Australians reported moving in the previous 5 years, 15 per cent had moved 3 or more times. The most common reasons for moving were twofold, either to buy a house or to buy a bigger house. These levels of purchase, home ownership and mobility underpin the importance and viability of some 10,000 real-estate services businesses in Australia; a sector which, up to 2,000, was largely self-regulated. Originality/value – This paper is one of the first in Australia to effectively quantify the success of legislative reform on residential agency behaviour.

Regulating Genetic Information—Exploring the Options in Legal Theory

2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 425-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisling de Paor
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Legal Theory ◽  
Personalised Medicine ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Genetic Technology ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Genetic Technologies ◽  
Genetic Science

Ground-breaking genetic discoveries and technological advances have introduced a new world of genetic exploration, and technological advances have facilitated the discovery of the genetic basis of a myriad of diseases. Genetic testing promises to potentially revolutionise health care and offer the potential of personalised medicine. Genetic technology may also offer the means to detect potential future disabilities. In light of rapid advances in genetic science and technology, questions arise as to whether an appropriate framework exists to protect the interests of individuals, prevent the misuse of genetic information by interested third parties, and also to encourage further advances in genetic science. In consideration of rapidly advancing genetic technologies and the ethical and legal concerns that arise, this article examines the regulation of genetic information, primarily from a theoretical perspective. It explores the preferable mode of regulation and choice of regulatory frameworks in legal theory, including non-discrimination, privacy and property.

scholarly journals The Limits of Liberal-Democracy Promotion

2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Hobson
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Democracy Promotion ◽  
Positive Outcomes ◽  
Conceptual Frameworks ◽  
Per Se ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
Empirical Case Studies ◽  
Do So ◽  
The Way

One of the few unambiguously positive outcomes of the George W. Bush years is a greater interest in the practice of democracy promotion. However, the expansion of scholarship in this area has not been matched by an equal expansion in its scope. There continues to be an overwhelming tendency to focus exclusively on empirical case studies and policy prescriptions, usually informed by a set of unstated liberal assumptions. Nothing is necessarily wrong with this per se. The problem stems from the lack of attention directed toward the larger theoretical and conceptual frameworks that inform and shape these practices. Responding to this state of affairs, this article examines the way certain theoretical tendencies and commitments have helped give rise to many problematic aspects of liberal democracy promotion. It is necessary to challenge the restrictive framework that currently dominates. It is argued that to do so entails rethinking, extending, and pluralizing the way democracy itself is conceived.

Genomics, Insurance and Human Rights: Is there a Place for Regulatory Frameworks in Africa?

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-34
Author(s):  
Vincent O. Nmehielle
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Health Insurance ◽  
Genetic Information ◽  
Insurance Industry ◽  
Genetic Discrimination ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Genetic Profile ◽  
Regulatory Frameworks ◽  
Health Care Context ◽  
Insurance Decisions

AbstractThis article examines the human rights dimension of genetic discrimination in Africa, exploring the place of regulatory frameworks while taking into account the disadvantaged position of the average African. This is in response to the tendency of insurance companies toward making health insurance decisions on the basis of individual genetic information, which could result in genetic discrimination or health insurance discrimination based on a person's genetic profile. The author considers such questions as the intersection between human rights (right to life, health, privacy, human dignity and against genetic discrimination) in relation to the insurance industry, as well as the obligations of state and non-state actors to promote, respect, and protect the enjoyment of these rights. The article argues that African nations should not stand aloof in trying to balance the competing interests (scientific, economic and social) presented by the use of genetic information in the health care context and that ultimately it is the responsibility of states to develop domestic policies to protect their most vulnerable citizens and to prevent entrenched private discrimination based on an individual's genes.

scholarly journals Wages and Establishment Size

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Swimmer
Keyword(s):  
Establishment Size ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Size Data ◽  
Do So

The author examines some of the more prominent research in the light of their author symethodologies and then, using current wage-size data, illustrates that size, per se, is not a determinant of wages; other factors interacting with size can produce higher wages, but do not necessarily have to do so.

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