Reasons given for not taking a DNA test

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Contents 1 Background 2 Reasons	This is one of a series of articles on Genealogical Methods, prepared in association with The Tapestry. See Index for a list of related articles.

Background

A recent question posed on the Rootsweb DNA Mailing list asked for reasons why people might not want to take a DNA test, even though it could be very helpful in untangling genealogical problems. The question was posed by one list member because they wanted "full disclosure" when seeking to help move correspondents forward on taking a DNA test

The following are my list of reasons that I have seen raised at one time or another. While I personally do not find some of these reasons particularly valid, different things are sometimes important for different people.

Reasons

Reasons not to do the YDNA

• a. Cost

• b. Privacy issues, including in particular "someone might use that information to cause me harm".

i. It might reveal a medical condition or predisposition that if known would adversely affect their ability to get health care coverage,insurance, etc

ii. It might reveal something that would expose them to racial stereotyping and prejudice

iii. There's already too much loss of privacy. They intend to guard information about themselves carefully, and believe taking a DNA test would expose them to a potential loss of privacy

iv. Taking such a test might expose them to criminal investigation (irrespective of whether they've committed a crime.)

• c. They already KNOW who their ancestors are, so it wouldn't benefit them. (Even though they might be wrong about their ancestry, or that it might help someone else sort out their ancestry. )

• d. They've invested a great deal of their personal identity in their ancestry. If they have their lineage wrong, they would prefer not to find that out.

• e. Religious reasons.

i. The implications of DNA is that human ancestry goes back millions of years. That's inconsistent with their religious beliefs

ii. There's an implication that this supports an evolutionary viewpoint, which is inconsistent with their religious beliefs

iii. There's an implication that all humans have a common ancestry, and that's intolerable from both social and/or religious perspectives

• f. They are concerned about health and safety issues surrounding the test. (Especially if it involves a blood sample, as was sometimes the case).