My Reflections for Week Thirteen - May Herring

 May Herring

Randy Dryer

Privacy In A Digital Age

4/5/24

My Reflections for Week Thirteen

(Health Privacy April 2nd - 4th)

This week we talked about Health Privacy, with the question of the week being whether medical personnel such as physicians should be able to freely share information with other medical personnel without requiring consent from the patient. The blog post focused on whether or not establishing a national DNA registry would be good public policy. Although my classmates and I were united in our answers of no to both of these questions, during class, debate was sparked over the best policies we think should be enacted.

When discussing the blog post, the class was provided with two options, one was a set of rules and regulations that would be observed if the U.S. were to establish a national DNA registry. Everyone agreed that this proposal was a good plan, although it was observed that it may be a little too vague. Secondly, we were provided a scenario where DNA would be collected from every baby born in a U.S. hospital, and used to create a registry that would only be accessed with a super warrant if need be. At the time, we collectively agreed this may work, but we had doubts. 

After having some time to think it over, I’ve concluded that this plan would be a bad idea, and I don’t agree with it. One reason is that it may cause unsafe birthing environments. The DNA would only be collected from babies who are born and medicated in a U.S. hospital. This may have the unintended consequence of parents performing home births instead of seeking a professional environment- in hopes of avoiding their child’s DNA collection. Parents also may be more reluctant to get their children vaccinated, causing health risks to society at large.

After ruminating on the exercises and discussions we’ve had in class over this past week, I’ve had some new realizations about my stance on privacy involving citizens' DNA. If I could go back in time after this week’s unit, I don’t think I would have participated in 23 & Me. Furthermore, I don’t believe minors should be allowed to have their DNA analyzed until they turn eighteen.