The Pros And Cons Of DNA Profiling

DNA profiling is often criticized for being unethical as some believe that an individual’s right to privacy is more important than having a DNA database. DNA contains a variety of information about an individual, such as eye colour and genetic diseases, so it is possible that the government could share these findings with third parties (e.g. insurance agencies), which would lead to discrimination (Wellcome Genome Campus, 2015). There is concern that partial matches on a database could be used by the government to violate the privacy of an offender’s relatives as well. Furthermore, opponents of DNA profiling fear that law enforcement will start testing the general public, instead of only serious offenders.