Beyond Brangelina: The Supreme Court Decides Myriad Genetics
Living the Wholesource Tomorrow marks one month since actress Angelina Jolie announced to the world that she had undergone a double mastectomy in response to test results indicating a heightened risk for contracting breast and ovarian cancers. She carries the BRCA1 gene–a mutation that indicates an average 67 percent risk of contracting breast cancer. In her announcement she bemoans, “It has got to be a priority to ensure that more women can access gene testing and lifesaving preventive treatment, whatever their means and background, wherever they live. The cost of testing for BRCA1 and BRCA2, at more than $3000 in the United States, remains an obstacle for many women.” And in a matter of hours, Angelina Jolie made the Myriad Genetics case famous. Myriad Genetics is a “molecular diagnostic company” based in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the 1990s, Myriad discovered the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations that lead to significantly increased chances of breast and ovarian cancer








