Brickbat: What Could Go Wrong?

England's National Health Service will begin a 10-year program to sequence every newborn's DNA using umbilical-cord blood. Supporters say the program will identify risks for hundreds of genetic diseases—far beyond the nine conditions currently screened via the heel-prick test—which Health Secretary Wes Streeting says will shift healthcare from reacting to illness, to predicting and preventing it early. But critics say there aren't sufficient safeguards for privacy.

Comments

[AT]

Hahaha, England doesn't have a health service. Brits know that if you need surgery, you book a flight to India.

[bye]

SO this will include aborted babies,babies put to death on falsified DNA claims ?
See, this is flawed right away.
"The campaign group Jeena International states that it is predominantly British Asian women, as well as those born in South Asia and married to men in the UK, who are aborting girls because of cultural pressure to have sons – often from their in-laws. Politicians and other key players who might condemn the practice are reluctant to do so, not wanting to ‘single out’ certain communities and ethnic minority communities."

ANother huge waste of money that will result in a Big Lie and further (!!) the taking of life

[Fist of Etiquette]

They're about to find out how not British they are as a nation.

[Vernon Depner]

They'll also find out how common it is to be mistaken about who your father is, and about the prevalence of incest.

[Bubba Jones]

That turns out to be a very American obsession.

Outside of you know who.

[Longtobefree]

How can you safeguard something that doesn't exist?

[Sometimes a Great Notion]

We need the data! How else do you do, a cost benefit analysis based on genetics predisposition of diseases to know who to treat and who is a lost cause, but never the less will continue to pay taxes for the "benefit"?

[bye]

Three errors in your post
1) We need a natural law right to life. As to dying : Catholic teaching does not demand heroic or extraordinary measures in fulfilling the obligation to sustain life. A patient may legitimately refuse procedures that effectively prolong life, if he or she believes the procedures would offer no reasonable hope of benefit or may be excessively burdensome.

2) The genetics so far has been like that on Downs Syndrome, used to kill victims and not help them. Dr Jerome Lejeune lamented that bitterly, it effectively STOPPED help for Downs Treatment . Kill the baby or shut up was the medical path that was taken

3) You use 'benefit' in a wrong sense. All that genetics testing will increase
a) abortion of those with medical problems that used to treated and targeted for understanding and prevention, now you just take the life
b) It will greatly increase female gendercide. "The campaign group Jeena International states that it is predominantly British Asian women, as well as those born in South Asia and married to men in the UK, who are aborting girls because of cultural pressure to have sons – often from their in-laws. Politicians and other key players who might condemn the practice are reluctant to do so, not wanting to ‘single out’ certain communities and ethnic minority communities."

a horribly confused post

[Quo Usque Tandem]

So every subject of [formerly, as was kindly pointed out to me just yesterday] Great Britain will have their DNA on file, to be pulled up whenever necessary. Sounds about right. The greater good and all certainly outweighing any selfish notions about privacy [what are you trying to hide?].

[Chuck P. (The Artist formerly known as CTSP)]

Not being a thief, rapist or murderer, I don't necessarily worry about my privacy in the "what are you trying to hide" way. It would be nice if there was a way to definitively prove to the state who you are in cases of identity theft.

That being said, the potential for abuse is horrifying. If records were switched, a person could be deprived of their identity by the state.

[Rev Arthur L kuckland (5-30-24 banana republic day)]

Yes I see in your DNA your of mussi decent. You are at risk of being a rapists, we will have to abort

[Don't look at me! ( Is the war over yet?)]

It’s a cost cutting measure.
“I’m sorry, but you will have expensive diseases in the future. Good bye.”

[Vernon Depner]

As opposed to the current policy of, "you have an expensive disease now. Goodbye."