Special Tribute:
Thank
you Ed
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Plug the Hole An Open Letter Steven Brown, -ACLU Rhode Island Privacy
at the Workplace:
Protecting
Faith Versus Protecting Futures
Privacy
vs. the Public’s Right to Know
Chaplinsky:
Defining Freedom of Expression
Of
Genetics and Privacy
Editorial
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Notes from the Chair |
ThePSCReportonline!
A Semi-Quarterly Journal for the Alumni of the University
of Rhode Island Political Science Department.
Faculty Editors:
Professor Alfred Killilea
Professor Nicolai Petro
Editor:
Michael D. Fox
Associate Editor:
Sherry Keneson-Hall
Supported by the generous
donations of the University of Rhode Island Political
Science Alumni.
| Of Genetics and Privacy
A. John Phaneuf P. Michael Fanning Two of our fine, talented and very bright undergraduate students |
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Where is the “unexplored land” but in our own untried enterprises?
In 1997 Andrew Niccol introduced modern pop-culture to the dangers and implications of genetic manipulation through his film “Gattaca.” The players in Gattaca find themselves without a private identity, enslaved by their biological make up. Theirs is a world where all information is public, including an individual’s predisposition to disease, intelligence level, and “projected societal benefit.” In the film the main character Vincent, a child born free of major genetic alterations, is not allowed the same opportunities as others deemed more genetically fit. For instance, when he applies for a job at the elite Gattaca Corporation, he is turned down for reasons quietly unarticulated. Ironically , the themes of this “science-fiction” movie presently have noe begun to permeate national headlines.
The February 9th edition of The Providence Journal reports that “[i]n 1998, a federal appeals court found that a government laboratory in California, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, had for years conducted genetic tests on employees without their permission, and it said the practice might have violated the workers’ privacy rights.” In response to this blatant misuse of private information, President Clinton issued a statement prohibiting all federal agencies from using genetic information within the hiring and promoting process of federal employees. He did this to encourage private sector compliance with federal guidelines.
It would appear that advances in genetic studies are already threatening individual privacy. While this information is argued to benefit the society at large, it comes at a great cost to the individual. Perhaps this cost is not worth the rewards; perhaps it is not the right thing to do. It is imperative that we educate ourselves, as citizens, to both the benefits and the dangers of such “advances.”. On the one hand, to be entirely pessimistic that we will unknowingly destroy what is essentially our spirit is not the best course. On the other hand, to be entirely optmistic that we can overcome our deficiencies as creatures of an imperfect world is likewise a perilous direction for society. We stand at a turning point in history, facing countless directions with much too little knowledge about which direction to proceed. We must advance slowly, with extreme caution, for the stakes are high and our next move might prove to be one of the most important we take as a species.
The singing words mocked him derisively. “How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world….”
Comments? Please contact Professor Al Killilea at: hookshot@uri.edu
The PSC Report invites unsolicited submissions (really, we need the material!!) of essays, articles and editorial comments. Submissions should be sent via e-mail to hookshot@uri.edu or via US Mail on 3 1/2" diskette or CD-ROM with hardcopy to:
The PSC Report
Al Killilea, Faculty Editor
Political Science Department
University of Rhode Island
Washburn Hall
Kingston, RI 02881