Iceland Passes Controversial Health Database Law Pass
December 19, 1998 - 0:0
REYKJAVIK Iceland's Parliament passed a controversial law on Thursday allowing a private operator to develop a centralized database of health records. Advocates of the bill said Iceland's largely homogenous population, with accurate genealogical records dating back for centuries, is uniquely suited to genetic and medical research. This is an issue in the interests of progress... which will contribute to better health and a better health service, said Siv Fridleifsdottir, deputy chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, during the voting.
But opposition left-wing MP Hjorleifur Guttormsson described the legislation as a totalitarian act which casts a dark shadow over Iceland in the international scientific community. The bill, covering the most controversial issue in Iceland since the NATO membership question in the early Cold War days, was relaunched with substantial amendments this autumn. Under the law, a company will be issued with an exclusive 12-year licence to compile the database from medical records and use it for research purposes including genetic studies.
It has been taken for granted during the long and heated debate that the licence will go to decode genetics, a company founded by former Harvard neurology professor Kari Stefansson with backing from foreign investors. Decode genetics is pleased with the outcome of today's vote, Stefansson said. As the world moves forward in its efforts to unlock the secrets of the genetics of human health and disease, we believe that by working in partnership with the Icelandic people, we will uncover knowledge that will lead to new ways to prevent and better fight human illnesses, he said in a statement.
(Reuter)
But opposition left-wing MP Hjorleifur Guttormsson described the legislation as a totalitarian act which casts a dark shadow over Iceland in the international scientific community. The bill, covering the most controversial issue in Iceland since the NATO membership question in the early Cold War days, was relaunched with substantial amendments this autumn. Under the law, a company will be issued with an exclusive 12-year licence to compile the database from medical records and use it for research purposes including genetic studies.
It has been taken for granted during the long and heated debate that the licence will go to decode genetics, a company founded by former Harvard neurology professor Kari Stefansson with backing from foreign investors. Decode genetics is pleased with the outcome of today's vote, Stefansson said. As the world moves forward in its efforts to unlock the secrets of the genetics of human health and disease, we believe that by working in partnership with the Icelandic people, we will uncover knowledge that will lead to new ways to prevent and better fight human illnesses, he said in a statement.
(Reuter)