District Court Dismisses Genetic Privacy Suit
The U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois dismissed a case that alleged violations of the Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act (GIPA), ruling that it doesn't apply "to the underwriting practices concerning life insurance policies." Plaintiff Brynn Thompson alleged the violation occurred when her genetic information was used to determine eligibility for life insurance coverage.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
"Thompson is asking the undersigned to create an anomalous regulatory scheme where GIPA would exempt the use of genetic information for purposes of life insurance underwriting when the insurer offers only life insurance products but otherwise regulate the same use when the insurer happens to offer health insurance in addition to life insurance," said Judge Nancy Rosenstengel. "Such a reading contravenes the basic principle of statutory construction that courts must 'consider only those constructions of a statute that are ‘fairly possible.’'”
Case 23-3904 began when Thompson filed a complaint in October 2023 against The Prudential Insurance Company of America after she was required to undergo a physical examination as well as answer questions about family medical history as part of an application for life insurance coverage. Thompson alleged that the collection and use of this genetic information to determine whether she was eligible for life insurance violated the GIPA.