There are two plausible ways in which we might understand
genetic information to be relevantly different
from other information. First, we might think that
genetic information is more intimate, personal or private
than other medical information. Part of the reason
for this extra significance comes from the idea that
this information, in some sense, defines ‘who we are’.
So, according to this argument, it is partly because
genetic information gets at something basic, essential
or unchangeable about us that it is worthy of special
protection. The main response to this common version
of genetic exceptionalism is to examine actual kinds of
medical information in comparison with genetic information
to see whether it is on the whole more personal,
intimate or private.