Washington, D.C. (rightcommentary.com): Last Friday, the Senate has passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act by a vote of 95 (Y) to 0 (N). The House passed the bill a year ago. Prior legislation on this subject has been largely unsuccessful - with versions like this bill having been proposed and died in Congress over the last 13 years.

The bill had previously been held up by Senator Coburn (R-OK). The New York Times reports on his reason for objecting:

One of Senator Coburn’s main concerns was that the bill might subject employers to civil rights lawsuits stemming from disputes over medical coverage. And employers that also finance their own health insurance, he said, might be sued twice. “We would have created a trial lawyers’ bonanza,” he said.

Senator Coburn, a medical doctor, had called for a “firewall” between the employer and insurance sections of the bill. “We withstood all the criticism we got from lots of people, and now we got it fixed,” he said.

Proponents of the bill say the negotiated changes do not affect the substance of the legislation.

• forbids insurance companies from denying coverage or raising premiums based on genetic information

• forbids insurers and employers from requiring a person to submit to genetic testing

• forbids discrimination against any person based on their personal or family genetic information

• prohibits labor organizations from denying membership based on genetic information

• prohibits the disclosure or purchase of genetic information by insurers or health planning companies

Scientists are learning increasing amounts about the genetic basis of illnesses ranging from cancer to diabetes to heart disease, and tests are being developed to assess a person’s predisposition to them.

Bill supporters sought to make sure these test results are not be used against people by employers or insurers unwilling to accept the burden of paying to treat costly diseases.

“Discrimination based on a person’s genetic identity is just as unacceptable as discrimination on the basis of race or religion,” said Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, calling it the century’s first major new civil rights bill.

I don’t know about you - but I can clearly see this bill ultimately being called the “GATTACA ACT”.