Is a Specific Ethical and Legal Framework Necessary?
Cambon-Thomsen A., Sallée C., Rial-Sebbag E. and Knoppers B.M. (2005) 3:1 GenEdit, 1-13 Abstract: As an increasing number of genetic tests for specific early- and late-onset disorders move from research to the clinical setting, health care professionals are faced with new challenges or, alternatively, with novel twists on age-old ethical dilemmas. A finding that an individual carries a deleterious mutation can indicate that his or her relatives are at an increased risk of being affected by the same genetic disorder. Though most patients share such risk information with their family once aware of its broader implications, some individuals refuse to do so. This places the health care professional in a quandary, particularly when the disorder in question is serious and preventable or treatable. On one hand, the health care professional owes the patient a duty to keep the information secret, and on the other, he or she has a duty to act for the benefit of others, including the family membe
