23 and Me
This is a new biotechnology start up company which was founded in April 2006 by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki. Its mission statement is "to be the world's trusted source of personal genetic information" (23 and Me, 2009). The process works by mail ordering a kit which the subject spits into, then sends back to the 23 and me lab which analyzes the DNA sequences identifying Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) (23 and Me, 2009) which mark your phenotype. Its great advantage is giving the customer an idea of their genetic predispositions for diseases like Parkinson's, Diabetes, heart disease and many others (23 and Me, 2009). One of the most concerning issues on this topic deals with who will have access to your genetic information. An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Women's Association in 2000 described a few groups who would be interested (Steinberg, 2000). First, insurance companies could use this to better assess your information and how it translates into your overall healthiness thus affecting your monthly rate. Next, employers, also cautious of their increased costs due to their obligation to provide health care options to staff, would also be interested in knowing whither or not their employees could be considered at risk for protracted expensive diseases like cancer (Steinberg, 2000).
This would be unethical because genetics only gives a probability of what may happen in the future. Just because someone is predisposed to a serious illness does not mean they will get this illness. If someone was genetically predisposed to a potentially serious and costly illness and discriminated against because of it, they would be stigmatized from ever advancing in their job and in society. This could quickly become a Gattaca world.