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Issues Surrounding the Use of Genetic Information and Technologies in Non-Health Care Settings
Grand Challenge III-1 and III-3
Research in this area examines the ethical, legal and social implications of using genetic information and technologies in non-health care settings, such as employment, insurance, education, adoption, criminal justice or civil litigation.
Examples of possible research questions:
- What are the ethical and social implications of the possible use in educational settings of genetic information on predisposition to attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders, to learning disabilities or to substance abuse and addiction?
- What would be the legal implications if genetic information about behavioral traits, including susceptibility to drug abuse and addiction, were determined to be admissible in criminal or civil proceedings?
- What are the issues associated with the possible use of racial or ethnic genetic profiling (i.e. associating individual or population-base genotypes with behavioral phenotypes, such as intelligence or violent behavior or physical characteristics such as skin or hair color)?
- How would this information be interpreted and used?
- What are the public attitudes and values that could influence how this information may be used?
- How would the use of this information interact with individual and societal concepts of privacy and responsibility?
- Are existing legal protections against discrimination adequate to ensure against the misuse of genetic information in non-health care settings, or is there a role for additional, genetic-specific legal protections?
- What are the ethical and social implications of direct to consumer genetic testing for non-medical purposes, such as estimating ancestral origins or assessing an individual's predisposition to exhibit specific behaviors and personality traits?
Last Reviewed: September 25, 2008
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