PROTECTION OF HUMAN GENETIC INFORMATION: BALANCING INTERESTS IN THE USE OF PERSONAL GENETIC DATA

Genetic technology can be of great benefit to people. However, one of the most dangerous aspects of new technology is the danger of the genetic information becoming available to people who might be involved in making decisions that affect every aspect of our lives, especially employers and health insurance companies. This might lead to a genetic discrimination, and recent surveys indicated that health insurance coverage has been denied to many people due to their genetic status. Mapping of the genome and the advent of genetic testing have triggered a plethora of perplexing ethical conundrums. The most prominent of these involve the interconnected issues of privacy and the ownership of one's genetic information. That information is broadly defined as information about genes, gene products, or one's inherited characteristics, that is, derived from a genetic test or a person's DNA sample. This paper proposes to examine different approaches to genetic information and in doing so, highlight the need for a more unified approach to addressing concerns about the use and potential abuse of genetic information.