THE British government has rejected a call from the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology to set up a human genetics commission. The commission would have served as a watchdog to safeguard the public鈥檚 interests and prevent misuse of genetic information. A much weaker 鈥渁dvisory committee on genetic testing鈥� is planned instead.
鈥淭he government has failed to see and respond to the issues opening up rapidly in human genetics,鈥� says Jeremy Bray, a Labour member of the Commons committee.
The Genetic Interest Group, an alliance of support groups for people affected by genetic disorders is also 鈥渄eeply disappointed鈥� by the government鈥檚 refusal to set up a commission. The group believes that the government has 鈥渓et employers and the insurance industry off the hook鈥�. It says a genetics commission would have been a first step towards legislation to control the use of genetic data.
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