As NCB goes to press, the Bundestag, the national parliament of Germany, is due to debate the Gendiagnostikgesetz four years after the law on genetic testing was first proposed (GenDG; http://www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a14/anhoerungen/105/index.html). At several points, this important piece of legislation was on the verge of collapse because of intense criticism from medical societies, church, biotechnology opponents and civil liberty advocates. An informed debate on genetic testing is crucial, before legislation affecting key issues, including medical diagnostics, health insurance, employment, privacy, immigration and criminal databases, is set in stone. However, the topic of genetic testing and engineering tends to inflame debate in Germany, and it is important to keep the discussion rational, since a legal framework on genetic testing is unavoidable and overdue.

The proposed law rules out genetic discrimination, banning the use of test data by employers and insurance companies (although the ban for insurers is not absolute). One bone of contention is that prenatal genetic screening for late-onset diseases such as Alzheimer's has not been banned. Although legislation will have to be carefully crafted to minimize abuse (note that sex testing is excluded), attempts to ban what is essentially a non-invasive extension of the widely practised cytogenetic technique of amniocentesis seems ill-informed (termination informed by cytogenetic screening is legal in Germany and most other European countries). It is right to warn of increasing the pressure on parents to abort on the basis of non-definitive tests. The issue is partially addressed by the proposed requirement for professional counselling, but it would make sense to only make tests available that are designated by a national expert commission as sufficiently definitive and the conditions sufficiently debilitating.

One oversight that has been rightly noted is legislation dealing with research. However, the draft law is fairly explicit on 'DNA theft' (genetic testing, including paternity testing, without consent), outlawed in Britain since 2006 and currently before lawmakers in Australia. Non-consensual DNA testing is a growing problem in the USA, where private and largely unregulated DNA testing services are proliferating and legally offer tests on 'stolen' DNA. German law allows testing only by nationally accredited individuals and institutions. Notably, the British police force is exempt from the ban on non-consensual DNA testing and the country has the largest criminal DNA database (7% of the population), which has facilitated some high-profile criminal convictions but also rightly calls for tighter regulation. The German legislation also allows testing for criminal investigation.

If the debate reaches a stalemate in the Bundestag, the impasse might be resolved by postponing legislation on the prenatal clauses. Failure to introduce any legislation on genetic testing would leave the country vulnerable to some of the excesses seen in the USA. Critics are advised not to throw out the baby with the bath water.