Virginia Foxx Makes the New York Times for a Planned Invasion of Privacy

Yes, Madam Foxx is all over the press for introducing a bill, the innocently named "Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act," which would allow employers to gather genetic data on their employees and also penalize them for not participating in a company's wellness program.

Big Brother, meet Aunt Sassy.

According to Reed Abelson, "The bill ... has already provoked fierce opposition from a wide range of consumer, health and privacy advocacy groups.... Critics claim it undermines existing laws aimed at protecting an individual’s personal medical information from use by an employer and others."

“We strongly oppose any legislation that would allow employers to inquire about employees’ private genetic information or medical information unrelated to their ability to do their jobs, and to impose draconian penalties on employees who choose to keep that information private,” a group of advocates -- including AARP, the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Epilepsy Foundation, the March of Dimes and others -- wrote in a letter to Foxx.

Under Foxx's bill, workers could be coerced into giving up private medical information, such as weight, blood pressure, and "whether they are at particular risk for cancer."

I've seen this movie! Gattaca (1997), "a biopunk vision" of a future society driven by eugenics and genetic discrimination. Only the best specimens get anywhere.

Wonder if the Madam would like to have her genetic profile taken and shared. I suspect not.