Premium
Ethical and legal issues and the “new genetics”
Author(s) -
Otlowski Margaret F A,
Williamson Robert
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2003.tb05365.x
Subject(s) - genetic discrimination , ethical issues , ethnic group , genetic testing , position (finance) , medical genetics , balance (ability) , medicine , psychology , engineering ethics , political science , law , genetics , business , biology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , finance , engineering , gene
Although uniquely personal, the information from gene analyses impacts on parents, siblings, children and even entire ethnic groups. Doctors need to carefully balance the right of a patient to privacy against the wider family and society interests, consistent with ethical standards and their legal obligations. Doctors also need to be in a position to advise their patients of potential risks that may result from obtaining predictive genetic information, such as discrimination by third parties. While these issues are not new, they occur with new sharpness in the “new genetics”, where clinicians have to be familiar not only with clinical significance, but also the ethical and legal implications of genetic analyses and information.