Yes, ancestry DNA tests are legal in every state. However, the law is toughing up on the guidelines that are related to home DNA kits. As a result, if you want to get a legal DNA test in Plano, TX, you should visit a professional service provider such as Face DNA so that you get high-quality DNA test lab results. Let’s talk about the privacy laws that are going to be implemented upon At home DNA tests.
Going for the ancestry DNA tests
You might be someone who has spit into a tube or swabbed the cheek and mailed the sample to a DNA test lab so that you can know about the health of your body or the paternity of the child. So due to these factors, you might be thinking that the organization that is analyzing your DNA is supposed to keep that information private. Meanwhile, this is not the case.
The health insurance portability and accountability Act which is also called HIPPA was made so that the sensitive medical information that is handled by medical professionals should be kept private and protected. In addition, this act applies to the tests that are ordered by the doctor but not to those people who buy directly from the organizations such as 23andMe and Face DNA. Since these tests are not considered medical tests, the companies use a large gray area to perform their functions. The organizations such as that write their own privacy rules; however, they can change these rules any time they want.
Revealing the information:
The other problem regarding these tests is that this genetic information can reveal all sorts of private information that are related to your ethnicity, family background, and even the probability of developing Alzheimer’s disease or a specific cancer type. Law enforcement operatives regularly use this information fetched from genetic databases to analyze violent crimes. However, the number of states that are adopting these genetic privacy regulations is increasing exponentially. Even the state of California stepped into this act on October 6 when Governor Gavin Newsom signed it into law of the genetic information act. This act puts limitations on the data that is collected by direct-to-consumer DNA evaluation companies. The SB 41 section of the act is going to be effective in January. This act facilitates the consumer with the option of providing consent before their genetic information can be utilized for scientific research or even when the organizations are going to provide their data to third-party companies.
Right to privacy:
According to experts, consumers have a right to privacy as people do not want anyone to know about their sensitive medical information. In addition, the experts want to implement rules that must be applied to genetic companies so that they can’t hide the consent and privacy laws in their long-term agreement. Moreover, companies should also facilitate the user with the option of closing their account and even deleting their DNA information from the database when the process is complete. As a result, the organization should destroy the customer’s information within 30 days of their request. Furthermore, even Utah implemented an identical law in March that was followed by Arizona in April. In both of the laws, the consent issued has been discussed, such as data security, notification related to privacy practices, and even the individual’s right to have their genetic information removed, and the sample must be destroyed so that it can be used in other ways.
Security laws are necessary:
According to the legal processors, privacy laws are necessary because the United States privacy laws were written before the development of DNA testing that is home based. The HIPAA laws were implemented in 1996, and the human genome project did not reveal any kind of information from its first draft until 2003. After five years, congress recognized the potency of genetic data that can be used against individuals, and in 2008, they passed the genetic information nondiscrimination act, which is also known as GINA. These laws ensure that prejudicial treatment by employers and health insurance providers should not judge on the bases of your genetic information. However, this does not protect other factors like life insurers, mortgage lenders, and schools from denying services that are based on the person’s genetic makeup.
Moreover, for the best legal DNA test in Plano, TX, you can visit Face DNA Test Now.
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