The U.S. House last week sent President Bush a bill that prohibits employers and insurance companies from discriminating against people on the basis of genetic tests. This sounds like a good bill, and the only thing that makes you wonder is that it was passed on a vote of 414-1.

The vote suggests that members of the House did not think it through. The only no vote was that of Ron Paul of Texas, who appears on the Republican ballot for president in the Oregon primary. Paul said he didn't believe intrusive federal legislation was the best way to deal with the potential misuse of genetic information.

He could be right at least in this sense: Federal legislation may be necessary, but on genetic testing and what to do with the information, it hardly can be sufficient.

Wild claims are made for the advantages of genetic testing. The Associated Press said it may help researchers look for cures for chronic diseases. Also, "it will help doctors catch problems early, perhaps leading to preventive treatment and lower medical costs."

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

People are believed to have a handful of genetic mutations that put them at risk for some disease, the AP quotes the National Human Genome Research Institute. If that's so, and if this information about a person is discovered, discrimination in insurance or employment is the least of our problems.

For instance, what is our moral obligation to inform people that our genes have certain characteristics? When people date and hope to get married, do they have a duty to inform their intended that according to the test, they can expect to develop this or that disease?

If the state wants to place a child for adoption, does it have a duty to determine the genetic makeup of potential parents so as not to put the child at preventable risk? Do the potential parents have a right to be informed about genetic test results on children, so they know what they might face? And what if test results show that somebody is at risk of a terrible disease, how will that influence what he does next?

We have reason to be skeptical about a brilliant future with genetic testing. We may wish that this technology had never become known. (hh)