Semenya genetic test is sheer blackmail
To subject our athletic star Caster Semenya to a genetic test of her gender in order to confirm her monumental achievement is sheer blackmail. It is, in the first instance, an invasion of her genetic privacy. It has racist overtones. It is deeply sexist. Most of all, it is a humiliating distraction from the real issue, which is to celebrate her fine achievement in the tough world of global athletic competition.
Most individuals who go for genetic tests submit themselves voluntarily because they have some or the other disease that may be treated more effectively by way of genetic diagnosis. I for example have one of those rare disorders called Factor V Leiden that turns me into a walking blood clotting factory. Amniocentesis is a routine genetic test for Down's syndrome among older women.
These tests are often life saving. They allow for the medical management of diseases where the individuals affected lead a normal life. They are regulated by the strictest ethical protocols in clinical practice, for the information is a matter of genetic privacy between the physician and the patient. It may not be released to a third party without the explicit, prior, written consent of the patient.
Information about diseases-causing genes is extraordinarily beneficial in the health arena, but there are issues. You may be genetically susceptible to cancer but never get it. Do you really wish to hear about something that may happen, ruining your life? Some women have chosen elective mastectomies because of their susceptibility to cancer and what a nightmare of a choice they faced. Imagine if genetic information gets into the hands of unethical life insurance companies. They could re-profile the risk of the insured population accordingly and re-gear their coverage and rates. South African insurance companies live by a strict ethical protocol regulated by the Life Office Association (LOA) and all companies have thus far honoured it. In the U.K. law regulates it.
There is academic research in an area called molecular anthropology where genetic tests may reveal one's real ancestral geographical origins in thousands of years. Although scientists here do not look at health issues at all, the same ethical protocol applies: the information stays with the individual and he or she gives written consent if it were to be released to a third party.
The area of forensic genetics is the only one where tests are done under conditions that are not voluntary and in many instances under duress. DNA is a unique and robust fingerprint that forms increasingly part of criminal databases the world over. Only convicted criminals should be tested, as awaiting trial prisoners may go free.
And now this, Caster Semenya, who is being subjected to the duress of a test in order to truly claim a prize that is rightly hers. Her gender is incontrovertible. She may have some male-like characteristics much like some men have some female-like characteristics. Then, why do we not test those men who have an overdose of testosterone because they may have a double Y chromosome?
The Democratic Alliance joins all fellow South Africans in congratulating Caster Semenya in her athletic prowess. We share in her joy and her excellence. We are appalled by how the issue of whether she is a true woman or not has spoilt her victory and ruined her day. We would like to help her put the humiliation behind her and embrace her in her achievement, a proudly South African one!
Statement issued by Wilmot James, MP, Democratic Alliance shadow minister of higher education and training, August 24 2009
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