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Molecular Testing: Ethical and Legal Issues

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Molecular Genetic Pathology

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Abstract

The possibility of genetic testing raises a number of ethical and legal issues. In general, the ethical principles of respect for individuals, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice can be used to navigate the difficult cases that may arise in the context of genetic testing including the need for informed consent, protections of privacy and confidentiality, and whether there exist duties to warn patients or to recontact them. In this chapter, we discuss the use of ethical principles as a source of guidelines for moral behavior including the testing of children for late-onset disease as well as legal issues that have arisen in molecular testing.

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Further Reading

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University School of Medicine, Indiana University Center for Bioethics, Indianapolis, IN, USA

    Kimberly A. Quaid PhD (Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty Investigator)

Authors
  1. Kimberly A. Quaid PhD
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Dept. Pathology, Indiana University, N. University Blvd. 550, Indianapolis, 46202, Indiana, USA

    Liang Cheng

  2. Dept. Pathology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Gustave L. Levy Place 1, New York, 10029, New York, USA

    David Y. Zhang

  3. School of Medicine, Department of Pathology and, Indiana University, 635 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, 46202, Indiana, USA

    John N. Eble

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Quaid, K.A. (2013). Molecular Testing: Ethical and Legal Issues. In: Cheng, L., Zhang, D., Eble, J. (eds) Molecular Genetic Pathology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4800-6_43

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4800-6_43

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-4799-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-4800-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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