Genetic screening, testing for genetic disorders. Most commonly, prospective parents or an embryo or fetus is tested when a specific genetic disorder is suspected (e.g., Tay-Sachs or sickle ce...

Civil rights, rights that a nation's inhabitants enjoy by law. The term is broader than political rights, which refer only to rights devolving from the franchise and are held usually only by a...

Deafness, partial or total lack of hearing. It may be present at birth (congenital) or may be acquired at any age thereafter. A person who cannot detect sound at an amplitude of 20 decibels in...

Health insurance, prepayment plan providing services or cash indemnities for medical care needed in times of illness or disability. It is effected by voluntary plans, either commercial or nonp...

Porter, David, 1780–1843, American naval officer, b. Boston. Appointed a midshipman in 1798, he served in the West Indies and in the war with Tripoli. In 1803 his ship, the Philadelphia, was c...

Adoption, act by which the legal relation of parent and child is created. Adoption was recognized by Roman law but not by common law. Statutes first introduced adoption into U.S. law in the mi...

Social security, government program designed to provide for the basic economic security and welfare of individuals and their dependents. The programs classified under the term social security ...

Fourteenth Amendment, addition to the U.S. Constitution, adopted 1868. The amendment comprises five sections. Section 1 of the amendment declares that all persons born or naturalized in the Un...

Church and state, the relationship between the religion or religions of a nation and the civil government of that nation, especially the relationship between the Christian church and various c...

Strike, concentrated work stoppage by a group of employees, the chief weapon of organized labor. A suspension of work on the employer's part is called a lockout. Strikes usually result from co...