Annotated Bibliography On Genetic Information - 1914 Words

Have you ever taken into account the fact that all your genetic information could be stored on one database; that at any time you could be identified for every action in a matter of seconds with the click of a button? This notion has caused a large amount of controversy among the global population causing a heated debate regarding the ethicality of having DNA databases. With a large amount of technological advancement and the growing fears of citizens, these DNA databases have started to rise in hopes of benefiting the global population. Critics opposed to this development have pointed out many flaws regarding the idea and continue to promote the restriction of the growth of these types of databases. Through extensive research, the†¦show more content†¦Tracing back to April of 1995 to the present, the development and advancements of DNA databases have significantly progressed, allowing it to have the capabilities it has today. In 1995, the first government national DNA data base was established in the United Kingdom for the purpose of collecting genetic information from criminals. This idea has since progressed to encompass the genetic information of all citizens. This information will be derived from human material. There is controversy over the idea of expanding from criminals to all citizens due to a threat to human privacy. Although this controversy was rooted in England, over 60 other countries have come to adopt the database system, thus causing the controversy to expand to all of these other countries (Is It Ethical To Have A National DNA Database?). Some of these countries include New Zealand, France, and even the United States. In the United States, the government started a project known as CODIS (Combined DNA Index System) in 1994. CODIS is the FBI s program that allows forensic DNA laboratories to create and search databases of DNA profiles. The federal DNA Identification Act of 1994 authorized the FBI to create CODIS and set national standa rds for forensic DNA testing. Since 1994, the debate has expanded from having only the genetic information of criminals to having every citizen s information in one file. There are numerous