Im taking an online class and one of our discussion questions is about Rudolf Giuliani proposing to take DNA samples from children at birth to aid in identifying bodies and identifying future criminals. I don't see this as an invasion of privacy. They take our fingerprints all the time for all sorts of things and a fingerprint will convict just like DNA. What are your thoughts on this?
Answers:
DNA identification of the general population has so many negative implications that it should be banned outright.
If your DNA shows you have markers for certain diseases, Medical and Life Insurance companies deny you coverage. This means a new born is immediately without insurance from the time it is born until it dies.
Employers don't hire people with markers for certain diseases and conditions because the person possibly may call in sick a lot, which affects production and the cost of things like Workman's comp.
So the baby is uninsurable and unemployable from the time of its birth even though it may never get a disease or miss a day of work.
Also history has shown that people misunderstand and misuse medical information. Remember the discovery of males with a double Y chromosome and everyone immediately labeling them as violent criminals when in reality most hadn't committed any crimes.
Also Eugenics of the 1940's when people with certain physical characteristics were forcibly sterilized by the government because the physical characteristics were thought to indicate the person had mental problems or antisocial tendencies, which just wasn't true.
DNA cataloging of the general population provides a ready source of victims for the next hysteria.
I think that it is a good idea. Even if you do get in trouble or work for the Military later on in life they will have your DNA anyways.
All newborns are fingerprinted at Birth. DNA would be find with me.I think it would need to be keep privately and not be able to be used for anything but identification or Parents identification.It has sure been helpful so far.If one does not get into trouble they should not worry .
Not only is it an invasion of privacy, but also the U.S. Supreme Court has already issued an opinion on the issues regarding invasion of privacy.
As for fingerprints, even if they are taken in an investigative function by the police, you continue to have the right, if not a part of the actual crime, to have the print cards destroyed or returned to you.
By the way, if you don't have a problem with Compulsory DNA storage, why do most people have a problem with the police coming into their home for no reason just to see if they are doing something Illegal?
And by the way, newborns are NOT all fingerprinted at birth. The ridges are not pronounced enough to identify finger prints. That's why foot prints are taken.
Also, the parents can opt out of such a practice. It is NOT compulsory.
Any Fingerprints and/ or footprints that are taken at birth are only used for the purpose of identification in the sense that a child is lost. Also this practice is optional. To take DNA samples for the use of identification borders on invasion of privacy because of how the current system is set. When a criminal's dna is taken it is put into a system that can be searched in the event of future crimes. But as was mentioned before if you were not charged witha crime and or were the victim you can request for print cards to be destroyed and your dna evidence as well ( i believe). If this becomes a mandatory thing the next thing you know we will become a society like Minority report where we will want to arrest people for crimes they will commit at a future time.
That is beyond an invasion of privacy, it is a violation of a persons 5th amendment rights.
If a parent wants to do this to protect the child from things like kidnapping that is okay. But if the government forces people to do this and then use this in criminal trials it is a violation of their right to not be forced to turn over evidence against them self.
If you are in the system for some other reason (past arrest or government work) and the police match your dna or fingerprints that is fair game, but the government can't see a newborn baby and say "hey you might be a criminal lets get all your stats now."
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