Genetic and Nongenetic Medical Information: Is there a Moral Difference in the Context of Insurance?

This chapter begins with an exploration of the concept of strong genetic exceptionalism. It considers three arguments about why genetic information is inherently distinguishable from all nongenetic medical information and argues that all of these arguments fail. The three arguments are: genetic information is predictive; genetic information is other-regarding and genetic information is essential. The chapter explores the weaker claim that genetic test information is sufficiently exceptional with regard to its use for insurance purposes that it deserves special protection. Weak genetic exceptionalism claims that there may be something morally special about the use of genetic test information for certain practical purposes, especially for insurance underwriting. It should be observed that there are other, more compelling moral reasons for thinking that those of us who are genetically disadvantaged should have access to insurance services on roughly the same terms as the genetically 'normal' or advantaged.