Re: Home DNA tests raise medical, ethical and legal questions.

From: art fougner, md (evsono@pipeline.com)
Wed Aug 22 20:58:07 2007


Caveat emptor.

Art

At Wed, 22 Aug 2007, Dean Huffman . wrote: >
>..
>
>The San Francisco Chronicle (8/21, C1, Colliver) reported, "Want to find out
>your baby's gender? Or who the father is? What about whether you possess a gene
>that makes you more likely to get cancer? These are all tests that now can be
>taken in the comfort of your own home." Some of these tests can be done without
>the knowledge or consent of some parties. "Ethicists and medical professionals
>are also concerned about how patients may react to undesirable results received
>at home or whether a mother would seek an abortion if her child is not the
>gender she or her partner wants." And there might be legal ramifications not
>only for the patients, but also for the companies which manufacture these
>tests, as is the case for Massachusetts company "Acu-Gen Biolab Inc., the maker
>of a genetic test that the company says will detect the baby's gender as early
>as six weeks." Over 100 suits against it allege that it caused "distress by
>providing inaccurate results." As a result of such complaints, the "federal
>government is starting to address growing concerns over direct-to-consumer
>testing." Despite these concerns, "More companies are offering home tests that
>indicate an individual's propensity for serious diseases, such as breast and
>ovarian cancer, based on the presence of a genetic mutation."

--
art fougner, md
"May The Wings of Liberty Never Lose a Feather." - Jack Burton




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