Ethics of genetics

'Designer babies', stem cells and the role of genetic testing in insurance and the workplace are just some of the many difficult ethical issues raised by advances in genetics.

News


	Nuffield Council publishes supplement to report on genetic screening The Nuffield Council on Bioethics has published a major supplement to the 1993 report 'Genetic Screening: ethical issues'. 17/08/06

	Joint Committee guidance on consent and confidentiality in gentic practice The Joint Committee on Medical Genetics has published guidance on genetic testing and sharing genetic information. 28/06/06

	Human rights, privacy and medical research A report on human rights, privacy and medical research has recently been published by John Gillott and the Genetics Interest Group. 01/06/06

	Hinxton Group calls for international ethical standards in stem cell research A group of about 60 leading international scientists, journal editors, regulators and bioethicists has published a consensus statement calling for an international set of ethical standards in stem cell research. 27/02/06

	HGC reports on reproductive decision-making and genetic technologies The Human Genetics Commission has released their report, Making Babies: Reproductive decisions and genetic technologies. 31/01/06

	Law Lords back saviour siblings ruling Law Lords rule that the HFEA acted lawfully in allowing the Hashmi family to use pre-implantation tissue-typing to select tissue matched embryos for their son. 29/04/05

	Moratorium on the use of genetic information in insurance extended The UK Government and the Association of British Insurers have agreed to extend the existing voluntary moratorium on the use of predictive genetic test results by insurers by five years, to 2011. 15/03/05

	Report on the social and ethical issues of the National DNA database Researchers from the University of Durham have published an independent report on the legal and ethical issues raised by the use of the National DNA Database. 09/11/04

	Data privacy may not be 'technically' feasible for pharmacogenetics studies Researchers in the USA have raised questions about the feasibility of keeping data about individuals in genetic databases confidential. 07/09/04

	Debate over genetic profiling of newborns Meeting in Bristol hears from ALSPAC. 20/05/04

	Australians create their first 'designer baby' Sibling with exact tissue match for boy with immune disease. 11/03/04

	Genetics and Insurance Committee publishes second report Considering genetic tests and the insurance industry. 28/01/04

	EC ethics advisory body publishes newsletter 'Ethically Speaking' European national ethics committees detail their objectives and past and current work. 06/01/04

	Pharmacogenetics and ethics The Nuffield Council reports. 29/09/03

	Workplace genetic testing EU ethics group advises against use of genetic testing in the workplace. 20/08/03

	UNESCO moves towards declaration on human genetic data A UNESCO committee has drafted a declaration on safeguards needed to prevent misuse of human genetic information. 14/07/03

	UK Government responds to 'Inside information' The Government broadly welcomes the Human Genetics Commission's report on genetic information, and points out that several recommendations have already been acted upon. 27/06/03

	Australian inquiry on genetic information publishes final report Two year inquiry results in comprehensive report on the protection of human genetic information in Australia. 13/06/03

	UK BioBank ethics advisory group announced Membership announced for an Interim Advisory Group that will advise the funders of UK BioBank on ethics and governance issues. 14/02/03

	High Court upholds challenge to use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis with tissue typing Arguments continue over the preimplantation genetic diagnosis of an embryo unaffected by beta-thalassaemia and a tissue match for an existing son. 31/01/03

	Lords debate their Committee's report on stem cell research The House of Lords debate - and vote to accept - the 2002 report published by its Select Committee on Stem Cell Research. 10/12/02

	Report on use of personal medical data in health research A new Nuffield Trust report looks at the background, law and ethical issues of the use of personal medical data in health research. 29/11/02

	Nuffield Council on Bioethics issues report on behavioural genetics research Bioethics group supports behavioural genetics research but advocates caution in its application. 03/10/02

"Each individual is entitled to lead a life in which genetic characteristics will not be the basis of unjust discrimination or unfair or inhuman treatment." Human Genetics Commission 2002

Share |