Unnatural selection

In this new book, Lois Wingerson explores advances in human genetic research - and how these advances are redefining the way we view ourselves and our world. Every week brings word of new genetic findings. On the heels of each new finding comes the capacity to test for the disorder the gene may activate, then the test itself - and then the questions. Just because the test is available, should we have it? The tests are often marketed by for-profit companies. Who is to determine what conditions warrant testing? Should it be up to the individual? A group of experts? A government agency? If a person learns he or she carries the gene for a particular disorder, what then? And, in the age of medical claim forms and computer networks, who else has access to that information? What if an employer finds out? If an insurance carrier denies future coverage? What about conceiving a child? Subjecting the fetus to prenatal genetic testing? If treatments for the condition lie well in the future, what benefit is it to know you or your child carry that gene?