Genomic Politics: How the Revolution in Genomic Science Is Shaping American Society

337 Pages·2021·21.806 MB·English

by  Jennifer Hochschild

Genomic Politics

Genomic Politics
How the Revolution in Genomic Science
Is Shaping American Society
JENNIFER HOCHSCHILD
1
3
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021936956
ISBN 978– 0– 19– 755073– 1
DOI: 10.1093/ oso/ 9780197550731.001.0001
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Printed by LSC Communications, United States of America
Dedicated to Melissa, who I miss all the time,
and to Barbara Hochschild,
who lived through the century in which
genetics moved into society
There is in biology at the moment a sense of barely contained expec-
tations reminiscent of the physical sciences at the beginning of the
20th century. It is a feeling of advancing into the unknown and [a
recognition] that where this advance will lead is both exciting and
mysterious. . . . The analogy between 20th-c entury physics and 21st-
century biology will continue, for both good and ill.
— The Economist, 2007
We possess the ability to . . . direct the evolution of our own species.
This is unprecedented in the history of life on earth. It is beyond our
comprehension. And it forces us to confront an impossible but es-
sential question: What will we, a fractious species whose members
can’t agree on much, choose to do with this awesome power?
— Jennifer Doudna and Samuel Sternberg, 2018
Genomic science is too big of a train to derail, the work will happen,
so social scientists need to be involved in order to contribute to its
appropriate interpretation.
— Social science expert on genomics, 2018
Table of Contents
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
1. Introduction: “There Be Monsters”? 1
2. The Basic Framework: Nature and Nurture, Risks and Gains 23
3. Disputes over Genomic Science Are Not Partisan 61
4. Enthusiasm and Skepticism 78
5. Hope and Rejection 113
6. Locating Experts in the Basic Framework 130
7. Locating the Public in the Basic Framework 153
8. Who Should Govern? 186
9. Governing Genomics 220
Appendix 237
Notes 251
References 275
Index 301

Preface and Acknowledgments
A 2020 advertisement by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center promotes
innovative, genomics-b ased treatment. Its video version asserts that “there
will never be one cure for cancer. There will be millions,” and promises “more
precise, personal, innovative care.” The slogan is “More science. Less fear.”
The aim of Genomic Politics is to probe that slogan. I do so not through sci-
ence, examination of medical cases, analyses of the economics of cancer care,
or the many other frames employed by many excellent authors, but as a po-
litical scientist: I examine the politics and ideology surrounding the societal
use of genomic science in the United States. The book analyzes disputes in
which people who seek the same outcome come close to accusing one an-
other of murder, and probes judicial decisions bringing together Supreme
Court justices who agree in fewer than 5 percent of their other cases. It
explores racial differences in views of “biogeographic ancestry” testing, and
the politics around research on whether Covid- 19 disproportionately attacks
African Americans or men because of their genetic makeup. Genomics is,
as Memorial Sloan Kettering emphasizes, science—b ut as the hospital well
knows, it also encompasses fear and scorn, hope and excitement. Like any
hugely important enterprise, its societal uses are intrinsically political and
ideological— and like Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (though
without its financial incentive), I want to bring what I know about genomics
into public visibility.
First things first: what is genomics? The National Human Genome
Research Institute (NHGRI) defines it as “the study of all of a person’s genes
(the genome), including interactions of those genes with each other and with
the person’s environment.” The genome, in turn, is “an organism’s complete
set of DNA, . . . [which] contains the information needed to build the entire
human body.” A metaphor helps. A single strand of DNA, residing in almost
every human cell, is made up of about 3 billion base pairs, each a two-u nit
combination of the chemicals adenosine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine; we
can analogize the base pairs to letters of the alphabet. The 3 billion letters
combine into words, about 20,000 of which are “readable” genes. Genetics
is the study of individual words, small combinations of words in phrases