Race and Biology

Race is a social construct. Now it is being used in the medical field. This in my opinion will further racial divides. http://www.cartage.org

The article talks about certain diseases that affect certain races. Africans’ have more of a chance of getting malaria or sickle cell disease. People who have European roots have more of a chance to get cystic fibrosis. One the other hand some people from Europe lack CCR5 receptors, are resistant to HIV-1 infection. This does not help with racial divides. While this information is useful, it provides further room for segregation. Some people will feel targeted by this type of genetic testing. Outward signs are not adequate for distinguishing a person’s genetic characteristics. The article mentioned several different racial groups who outside appearance did not match their inner appearance. People, who identify with the racial group white, had less than 90% of European ancestry. While people from India their genetic makeup matches those from Africa and Europe. Insurance companies could benefit from this information. They could up the people’s coverage that have more of chance to genetically inherit a disease. On the other hand it would be discrimination on the bases of race and that is against the law. The obligation does neglect the responsibility to heal racial divides. Also it would violate the US Constitution in many ways.