President Bush Signs the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
![President George W. Bush signs H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008, Wednesday, May 21, 2008, in the Oval Office. White House photo by Eric Draper.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20121006192336im_/http://www.genome.gov/images/feature_images/gina_sign.jpg)
Washington, Wed., May 21, 2008 - The President today signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) that will protect Americans against discrimination based on their genetic information when it comes to health insurance and employment.
The bill had passed the Senate unanimously and the House by a vote of 414 to 1. The long-awaited measure, which has been debated in Congress for 13 years, will pave the way for people to take full advantage of the promise of personalized medicine without fear of discrimination.
Read more: President Bush Signs H.R. 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
[georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov]
- For the text of the bill see: H.R. 493 [thomas.loc.gov]
- For a full overview see: Genetic Discrimination
- For the 2007-2008 GINA legislative process see: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act 2007 - 2008
- For our fact sheet on the new federal law see: Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
Last Reviewed: March 17, 2012