4 thoughts on “Hey, FDA”

  1. It’s my genome.

    No it is not. If you leave your DNA in a public place, say via a loose strand of hair or some scraped off skin cells, it becomes public domain.

    Taking this to extremes, what if someone took that public domain DNA and used it to help create a baby. A baby for whom you were a biological parent? Would you be liable for child support? On whom would the burden of proof be?

    Many medical tests are currently legally required to be interpreted by a medical professional, though with online services and the ability to test across international borders, I suspect this requirement is slowly breaking down. A protected market is not sustainable and if this legislation becomes a problem then DNA testing will get out sourced. Already China is putting in the largest DNA testing facility in the world, part of the intent of which seems to be to characterizer intelligence…

    I suspect DNA ownership is going to become a very interesting moral and legal minefield in the future, especially if there is any money in it.

  2. “If you leave your DNA in a public place, say via a loose strand of hair or some scraped off skin cells, it becomes public domain.”

    I’d love to hear the novel legal theory by which you assert this. It’s like saying if you leave your wallet behind at a restaurant for some reason, it becomes the property of the next person to happen along.

  3. “If you leave your DNA in a public place, say via a loose strand of hair or some scraped off skin cells, it becomes public domain.”

    I’d love to hear the novel legal theory by which you assert this. It’s like saying if you leave your wallet behind at a restaurant for some reason, it becomes the property of the next person to happen along.

    Well, law enforcement agencies do not seem to be legally limited with regard to getting it tested.

    There is a legal difference between temporarily leaving something behind and abandoning it. Forgetting a wallet is not the same as making a deposit at a public toilet tainted with DNA – one does not tend to go back for the latter.

  4. Many medical tests are currently legally required to be interpreted by a medical professional, though with online services and the ability to test across international borders, I suspect this requirement is slowly breaking down.

    The MD is becoming a barrier, not just expert help. Should you develop a chronic condition, you must become your own expert and doctor-shop until you get the tests and treatment you need. (Heaven forbid you’re in an employer-based HMO because you’re then paying out-of-pocket in addition to useless premiums.)

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