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Genetic privacy: orthodoxy or oxymoron?

A Sommerville1, V English

  • 1British Medical Association, London.

Journal of Medical Ethics
|May 5, 1999
PubMed
Summary

Genetic privacy may be a contradiction, challenging individual autonomy and societal views on responsibility. This impacts how genetic information is shared, affecting personal rights and obligations.

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Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Genetics
  • Societal Implications

Background:

  • Current legal and ethical frameworks prioritize individual autonomy and patient rights in medicine.
  • This includes duties of candor and frankness from health professionals to patients.
  • However, dilemmas emerge when individuals decline genetic information or refuse to share it with others.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To question the concept of genetic privacy as a potential contradiction in terms.
  • To explore the societal implications of genetic privacy challenges on perceptions of privacy and responsibility.
  • To examine the tension between individual autonomy and the interconnectedness/responsibility to others in the genetic context.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of genetic privacy.
  • Ethical discourse on autonomy versus interconnectedness.
  • Exploration of legal and moral obligations regarding genetic information.

Main Results:

  • The concept of "genetic privacy" may indeed be a contradiction.
  • Genetic information inherently involves interconnectedness and responsibility to others, challenging the primacy of personal autonomy.
  • Existing legal and ethical frameworks may be insufficient to address these genetic-specific dilemmas.

Conclusions:

  • The notion of genetic privacy necessitates a re-evaluation of individual autonomy in light of genetic interconnectedness.
  • Societal perceptions of privacy and responsibility must adapt to the unique challenges posed by genetic information.
  • The extent to which individuals' moral obligations regarding genetic information can be enforced requires further ethical and legal consideration.
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachGenetics and ReproductionProfessional Patient Relationship

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