With the rise of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic tests – tests that are ordered directly by consumers and whose results are reported without a health provider’s involvement – ASHG issued a statement in 2007 on such tests that make health-related claims or directly affect health care decision making. The statement includes recommendations to ensure transparency, provider... Read More
ASHG has supported efforts to prevent genetic discrimination since the 1990s, including the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA), enacted in 2008. One such early bill was Senate Bill 318, the Genetic Nondiscrimination and Health Insurance and Employment Act. Related: ASHG Board Endorses the Genetic Nondiscrimination and Health Insurance and Employment Act (December 2001) Read More
In 2000, recognizing the involvement of ASHG members in gene therapy research and implementation, ASHG issued a statement commenting on the need for rigorous research and consideration of patient interests. Related: Statement on Gene Therapy (August 2000) Read More
Genetic information about an individual reveals genetic risk information about both the individual and other family members. ASHG issued a statement in 2000 considering the importance of family medical history in genetics research and its balance with ensuring the genetic privacy of research participants’ relatives, and one in 1998 commenting on this balance in the... Read More
ASHG reaffirms its commitment to the fundamental principle of reproductive freedom and unequivocally declares its opposition to coercive efforts to restrict that freedom based on the misuse of genetic information. Related: Statement on Eugenics and the Misuse of Genetic Information to Restrict Reproductive Freedom (February 1999) Read More