Presentation outline

How can legislative approaches be used to advance policy and serve the public interest with regards to genetic technologies? Having been a leader in the successful effort to enact the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) , first in the states and then soon thereafter on Capitol Hill, there are important lessons to be learned. From coalition building, public education, media outreach, and grassroots organizing to framing a message, speaking with legislators, Executive staff, and policymakers and building bipartisan support, these lessons can be a blueprint for moving forward.

As we seek to engage these practices once again as we work on Federal limitations on gene patents, the value of legislative approaches to policy goes well beyond enacting a single law on a single issue. Such an approach serves as a powerful tool to educate, organize and build momentum on a wide variety of closely related philosophical and practical issues.