Each generation transmits to posterity some part of its genetics, knowledge, and possessions. And to assure their integrity, the Constitution protects privacy of person, freedom of thought, and sanctity of property. So it is that an all embracing genetic confidentiality ought to occupy the guarded space between Fourth Amendment bodily privacy and Fifth Amendment self-incrimination.
DNA is the human library and the human signature that can betray our identity, our medical secrets, and our connection to people, places and things. And advancements in genetics are unrelenting as demonstrated by new studies in low-template DNA analysis,1 transgenerational memories,2 and identical twin differentiation.3
