Germany may allow employers to introduce gene tests for job seekers
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《英国医生杂志》
Gene testing for hereditary diseases could become routine for people applying for jobs in Germany if the government enacts draft legislation, the county抯 national ethics council has warned.
The German government has produced draft legislation that would allow employers to carry out gene tests on people applying for jobs that could potentially be used to identify hereditary genetic disorders.
The draft law says that "genetic examinations at the level of phenotypes will be allowed in as far as they permit an assessment of the current suitability for a certain type of job."
Government spokesman Klaus Vater insisted that the law did not give the green light to routine gene testing of job applicants for hereditary diseases. He said that gene tests would be restricted to identifying people who have genetic disorders that could influence their ability to perform a certain job—for example, vision disorders in bus drivers.
However, the National Ethics Council—a body that advises the government on the social and ethical implications of scientific breakthroughs—has warned that the legislation could be the slippery slope to a widespread use of gene tests for job seekers and could lead to discrimination against people who have genetic disorders or who are at risk of inheriting genetic disorders.
In a report in the weekly magazine Der Spiegel (9 October, p 48), Professor Spiros Simitis, the head of the National Ethics Council, warned that the legislation would open the door to routine gene testing for hereditary diseases of job seekers.
The Green party spokesman Volker Beck also criticised the government for not doing enough to protect the privacy and confidentiality of genetic information, warning that people who are given a diagnosis of a genetic condition could be denied insurance coverage or other benefits.
Last year a teacher in Germany made the news when she was refused a permanent position after she having been identified at being at high risk of Huntington抯 disease because of a family medical history. She went to court to win the right to refuse to take a gene test (BMJ 2003;327:827).
The state of Hessen said that there was an economic incentive not to give the woman a permanent position because of the risk of absenteeism and medical costs later on in her career, unless a gene test showed that she had a high chance of not developing the disease.
Existing employment practices in Germany prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex, and genetic make up.
The new draft legislation is part of a package of measures concerning genetic engineering and biotechnology that the German government is currently preparing.(Vienna Jane Burgermeister)
The German government has produced draft legislation that would allow employers to carry out gene tests on people applying for jobs that could potentially be used to identify hereditary genetic disorders.
The draft law says that "genetic examinations at the level of phenotypes will be allowed in as far as they permit an assessment of the current suitability for a certain type of job."
Government spokesman Klaus Vater insisted that the law did not give the green light to routine gene testing of job applicants for hereditary diseases. He said that gene tests would be restricted to identifying people who have genetic disorders that could influence their ability to perform a certain job—for example, vision disorders in bus drivers.
However, the National Ethics Council—a body that advises the government on the social and ethical implications of scientific breakthroughs—has warned that the legislation could be the slippery slope to a widespread use of gene tests for job seekers and could lead to discrimination against people who have genetic disorders or who are at risk of inheriting genetic disorders.
In a report in the weekly magazine Der Spiegel (9 October, p 48), Professor Spiros Simitis, the head of the National Ethics Council, warned that the legislation would open the door to routine gene testing for hereditary diseases of job seekers.
The Green party spokesman Volker Beck also criticised the government for not doing enough to protect the privacy and confidentiality of genetic information, warning that people who are given a diagnosis of a genetic condition could be denied insurance coverage or other benefits.
Last year a teacher in Germany made the news when she was refused a permanent position after she having been identified at being at high risk of Huntington抯 disease because of a family medical history. She went to court to win the right to refuse to take a gene test (BMJ 2003;327:827).
The state of Hessen said that there was an economic incentive not to give the woman a permanent position because of the risk of absenteeism and medical costs later on in her career, unless a gene test showed that she had a high chance of not developing the disease.
Existing employment practices in Germany prohibit discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex, and genetic make up.
The new draft legislation is part of a package of measures concerning genetic engineering and biotechnology that the German government is currently preparing.(Vienna Jane Burgermeister)