ABSTRACT
A common line of criticism concerning modern human genetics and its applications is that it provides a new ground for discrimination among individuals, comparable in some important respects to the more traditional forms of human discrimination, notably racism and sexism. Among the most serious concerns pointed out by the critics is the fear that, if third parties such as insurance companies and employers are given access to an individual’s genetic information, this will inevitably lead to widespread social and economic discrimination of the most objectionable kind. The term customarily used to describe such an unwelcome result is ‘genetic discrimination’. On closer examination, however, the concept has a variety of meanings. A distinction can be made between the following dimensions: arbitrary vs. nonarbitrary discrimination, direct vs. indirect discrimination, discrimination against person vs. discrimination against behavior, and statistical vs. individualized discrimination.
