Case: Genetic Testing

The completion of the human genome project and the vast leaps in molecular biology it made possible will undoubtedly transform medical care in the next few decades. Hundreds of tests for various genetic conditions are currently being developed, and  genetic screening is likely soon to become a routine part of medical examinations. Within the not-too-distant future, we will likely be able to intervene genetically very early on in a pregnancy to alter the genetics of “undesirable” traits.

1. Should doctors be allowed to screen patients for genetic traits and place this information in patients’ medical records?
2. Who should have access to these records? Patients? Family members? Insurance companies?
3. Should medical researchers be allowed access to these medical records for the purposes of conducting population genetic studies? (Currently, the review of medical records is routine, and it is standard practice not to notify the patient.)
4. Should researchers be allowed to look for genetic bases of any condition?
5. Should parents be allowed to test their unborn or newly born infants for disorders? Would this violate the rights of the child? (Such testing might reveal the likelihood of diseases that do not manifest themselves for many years, even decades.)
6. What is a disorder? (Some in the deaf and small people communities are worried that genetic engineering along these lines will lead to a “genocide” of their kind.)
7. Is it likely that the ability to genetically alter undesirable traits will lead to genetic manipulation for creating or enhancing desired traits?
8. Is there anything morally problematic about seeking ways to enhance the “natural” abilities of humans?

(from the Rutland Center for Ethics at Clemson University)

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