Converge law and science

I imagine a petition filed in our Supreme Court asking the judges to consider a statistical evidence that provides an alternative interpretation that does not involve malpractice or a crime. The Bench will not be expected to become expert statisticians during the trial but the public will expect them to understand how statistical tests work. Will they live up to expectations? 

Another case may necessitate their decision on a medical question: Is the “right to assisted suicide” protected by the Constitution? The life of the law should now move from experience to logic. We’ll need more “academic” judges to accomplish this. 

Courts are now being asked to assess the scientific validity of things like DNA screening, investigate the reasonableness of regulatory agencies, draw conclusions about the efficacy of a drug, delineate risks associated with nuclear waste disposal or the leakage potential of a hazardous dump, or the risks to biodiversity linked to dam construction, and also patents. 

Job discrimination is one of the most serious threats to genetic privacy. Cases of people being sacked after their employers discovered that they were at risk of inherited diseases, or people being turned down for a job due to their genetic condition, have been investigated.

Significant ramifications

Another point of interest is insurance coverage. For those known to have some genetic predispositions, insurance companies can raise premiums or decline to give cover. Genetic testing may be required by an insurer as a condition of coverage.

Sadly, these instances of genetic discrimination are not rare occurrences. The availability of more knowledge during pregnancy may have significant ramifications. Let’s say a woman wants a baby and undergoes tests seeking to know if she has any genetic traits that could hurt her foetus. 

The test comes back negative and she gets pregnant but the child is badly deformed. A blunder is found in the laboratory. The woman sues the lab, blaming their negligence. Is the lab responsible? Is it possible for t the legal and science categories to interact?

Mr Onyango is a STEM scholar and Global Fellow at Moving Worlds Institute. [email protected]