Take insurance, for instance. Now it will be technically possible to subject people, seeking insurance, to a battery of genetic tests. Risks may no longer be shared if the progress of genetic disability becomes absolutely certain. Employers may wish to utilise genetic testing. They may argue that training, disability benefits and the cost of sick leave justify having exact knowledge about the medical prognosis of their staff.
Some scientists believe that sexual orientation is, at least partly, genetically determined.
But out of fear or hatred, such a discovery might also hinder progress by leading to demands for destruction of foetuses evidencing such genes. The mapping of the human genome is good news for humanity. Scientists will use their new knowledge to combat more than 5,000 major genetic conditions that afflict the human family. It is our duty to share this information with people everywhere, for the genome is part of the common heritage of mankind. But we must not let the excitement obscure the risks and dangers.