# If mental illnesses have a genetic basis what is their legal status?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mental-illnesses-have-a-genetic-basis-what-is-their-legal-status/209391
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [October 24, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mental-illnesses-have-a-genetic-basis-what-is-their-legal-status/209391 "2003-10-24T20:26:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@singersargent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singersargent)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mental-illnesses-have-a-genetic-basis-what-is-their-legal-status/209391/1 "2003-10-24T20:26:12Z")
A poster told me that my questions are more appropriate for Great Debates than the Pit,
so after searching the SDMB archives, here I am.
Some original research has been published this year trying to establish a genetic basis for mental illness.
After reading some of those articles my questions are:
If/when a genetic or “physical” component to mental illness is substantiated, will this
(1) remove the current physical vs. mental coverage disparity by the insurance industry
(2) change the way mental illnesses are viewed legally
(3) make strides in destigmatizing mental conditions, disorders, & illnesses?
Why or why not?
Recent studies:
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder, OCD
[http://www.eurekalert.org/pub\_relea...m-mgl102103.php](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_relea...m-mgl102103.php)
[http://www.nature.com/mp/](http://www.nature.com/mp/)
Manic-depressive illness, bipolar disorder
[http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2003/06\_15\_Kelsoe.html](http://health.ucsd.edu/news/2003/06_15_Kelsoe.html)
[http://ethics.ucsd.edu/seminars/2003/kelsoe.ppt](http://ethics.ucsd.edu/seminars/2003/kelsoe.ppt)
(I think slide number 20 is fascinating.)
[http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v8/n5/index.html](http://www.nature.com/mp/journal/v8/n5/index.html)
1. Evidence that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter of the G protein receptor kinase 3 gene is associated with bipolar disorder
T B Barrett, R L Hauger, et al.
2. Linkage of a bipolar disorder susceptibility locus to human chromosome 13q32 in a new pedigree series
S H Shaw, Z Mroczkowski-Parker, et al.
Hoping for, as always, a good debate of the issues…
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### Author:  [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)
#### Post date: [October 24, 2003, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-mental-illnesses-have-a-genetic-basis-what-is-their-legal-status/209391/2 "2003-10-24T22:27:10Z")
There may be changes in how mental illnesses are viewed, but it will take a long time. The biological component of left-handedness was known long before I was born. It didn’t stop my grandmother from trying to “convert” me “for my own good”.