Genetic Screening Programs and Public Policy

Bowman, James E.

doi:10.2307/274676

Cited by 28 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…However, neither sickle cell anaemia nor sickle cell trait protect against racism, nor against a failure to learn from history, nor indeed, according the testimony of Bowman (1977) cited above, against legalised murder.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the US, insurance companies raised their premiums by 50%, even though there was no actuarial evidence for this; major airlines fired black employees with sickle cell trait, even though they had only just begun to hire African-Americans; and despite rigorous trials demonstrating that pilots with sickle cell trait showed no effects in even the most strenuous conditions, the US Department of Defence screened out applicants with sickle cell trait (Bowman 1977). More recently, apparently benign employer concern for employees with sickle cell trait working in dangerous industries has led to disproportionate layoffs for black employees rather than action on environmental and occupational health hazards (Draper 1991).…”

Section: Why Is a Genetic Argument Used?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In policy terms, sickle cell trait has been misused to reinforce preexisting racial discriminations in other spheres, in employment (Draper 1991), insurance (Bowman 1977), and recruitment to the forces (Wilkie 1993). In contrast, as far as sickle cell anaemia itself is concerned, the lack of urgency in policy has been striking, and health and social care services for treating people with sickle cell have been slow to develop (Prashar, Brozovic and Anionwu 1985;Ahmad and Atkin 1996).…”

Section: Sickle Cell Anaemia and Sickle Cell Traitmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The carrier state has been found to offer some protection against cerebral malaria in childhood, and thus the gene flourished in areas of the world that were malarial. The carrier state and the full illness have often been confused, both in legal frameworks (Bowman 1977) and by health staff (Anionwu and Atkin 2001). The World Health Organization (1988) documents how global migration has led to an increase in sickle cell in Europe, and because of the younger age structure of minority ethnic groups, sickle cell anaemia is now the most common genetic condition in England, affecting 1 in 2,380 births (NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening Programme 2002).…”

Section: Sickle Cell Anaemia and Sickle Cell Traitmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sickle Cell Anaemia and Deaths in Custody in the UK and the USA

Dyson

Boswell

2006

The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice

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An unexplained death in custody represents an important focal point for public scrutiny of the criminal justice system, especially when excess deaths occur in those of minority ethnic descent. Sickle cell anaemia is a serious inherited blood disorder disproportionately affecting minority ethnic groups. Sickle cell trait is the genetic carrier state and not an illness. The evidence suggests that the treatment of sickle cell in the criminal justice system is twofold. Justice authorities have misused sickle cell trait to explain away ten sudden deaths, often associated with forced restraint, of AfricanCaribbean people in custody. Meanwhile, seven deaths have been attributable to lack of provision of health care for those prisoners suffering from the illness sickle cell anaemia.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Why Is a Genetic Argument Used?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sickle Cell Anaemia and Sickle Cell Traitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Sickle Cell Anaemia and Sickle Cell Traitmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sickle Cell Anaemia and Deaths in Custody in the UK and the USA

Dyson

Boswell

2006

The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice

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“…Secondly, this confusion was specifically associated with discrimination in entry to the armed forces (Duster, 2003), in insurance (Bowman, 1977), and in employment (Draper, 1991). Discriminating against someone who is a sickle cell carrier effectively discriminates against African-Americans, but does so in an ostensibly colour-blind manner.…”

Section: Sct and Unexpected Death In Athletics Military Training Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Actor network theory, agency and racism: The case of sickle cell trait and US athletics

Carter

Dyson

2015

Soc Theory Health

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Actor Network Theory (ANT), and its principal proponent Bruno Latour, have invigorated recent social theory. In assessing the agency of things they offer a fresh perspective on materiality and on the role of the nonhuman (animate and inanimate), and have challenged the central place of sociology in social research. One increasingly influential concept associated with ANT is that of 'assemblage'. The paper takes a contemporary concern -the sudden death of student athletes later found to be genetic carriers of sickle cell -and uses this to assess the concept. Whilst ANT, and the notion of assemblage, offer interesting avenues for research, the difficulty in sustaining a plausible notion of durable, structured social interests carries political consequences.

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When a Blood Donor Has Sickle Cell Trait:Incidental Findings and Public Health

Lee¹,

Marks²

2014

Hastings Center Report

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There are no national recommendations for routine screening for sickle cell trait, nor is there guidance on whether or how to notify donors that they might be tested or identified as having sickle cell trait. As a result, the organizations that collect blood have implemented variable policies about whether and how to inform prospective donors of the possible screening and discovery of this noncommunicable condition. The question of what they should do is related to the broader question of how to handle incidental and secondary findings. In a recent report, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues outline a framework for handling such findings in the clinical, research, and direct-to-consumer contexts. While the commission's report did not directly address incidental and secondary findings in the public health context of blood donation, it made several overarching recommendations that apply in all contexts where such findings might arise. This essay outlines the special issues raised by discovering sickle cell trait in blood donation and considers the implications of the commission's framework for that problem.

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Genetic Screening Programs and Public Policy

Cited by 28 publications

References 15 publications

Sickle Cell Anaemia and Deaths in Custody in the UK and the USA

Sickle Cell Anaemia and Deaths in Custody in the UK and the USA

Actor network theory, agency and racism: The case of sickle cell trait and US athletics

When a Blood Donor Has Sickle Cell Trait:Incidental Findings and Public Health

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