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To Test or Not to Test

From: With Good Reason
Length: 28:56

If you could have your DNA screened for your risk for disease, would you do it? Read the full description.

Piece Audio

Playing: To Test or Not to Test
From: With Good Reason

Dna_small Genetic testing of our risks for disease is the latest trend in medicine. The technique offers hope for some, but also raises medical, ethical, psychological, and practical concerns for many, including whether genetic information is worth acquiring. Doris Teichler Zallen is the author of a new book, To Test or Not Test, a consumer guide for people thinking about genetic testing. Also: In the United States, approximately 15 million children suffer from mental illness, and only 20 percent receive treatment. Child Psychiatrist Aradhana Bela Sood and Psychologist Robert Cohen say there is a crisis in child mental health.

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Piece Description

Genetic testing of our risks for disease is the latest trend in medicine. The technique offers hope for some, but also raises medical, ethical, psychological, and practical concerns for many, including whether genetic information is worth acquiring. Doris Teichler Zallen is the author of a new book, To Test or Not Test, a consumer guide for people thinking about genetic testing. Also: In the United States, approximately 15 million children suffer from mental illness, and only 20 percent receive treatment. Child Psychiatrist Aradhana Bela Sood and Psychologist Robert Cohen say there is a crisis in child mental health.

Transcript

[Music: Westwind]
Last May both houses of congress overwhelmingly passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. New York congresswoman Louise Slaughter says the new law makes it illegal to fire or discriminate against someone based on genetic information, or for health insurers to raise premiums or deny coverage:
[clip: Louise Slaughter]
While genetic testing is now a fact of life, genetic isn’t always a wise thing to do. I’m Sarah McConnell and today on With Good Reason we’ll talk to the author of "To Test or Not to Test," a guide to genetic screening.

Later on, many adults don’t realize that for some young children mental health difficulties are very real.

[Clip: Bela Sood]

But first, genetic testing of our risks for disease is the latest trend in medicine. It offers hope for some, but also raises medical, ethical, psychological, and practical concerns for many of us. Dor...
Read the full transcript