Year: 2011
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The question of ownership of genetic material is highly relevant to \nmedical ethics at this point in our history. What has become a major \ndebate is how DNA can, and if it ought to be commoditised; and how \nand if individuals can keep their genetic information private, or \nwhether it ought to be shared with all. \nIn this research report I question whether genetic information is \nexceptional when compared with other medical or health-related \ninformation. The Kantian view of commoditisation of the body and \nhuman dignity is given along with some of the most prominent views \non self-ownership. \nPatenting and genetic biobanking have received much attention in \nrecent years, I focus on these issues and moral questions that \nsurround these practices. \nThe idea of genetic information as a common and natural 'resource' \nis discussed. If it is indeed a common heritage for all, how ought \nindividuals, populations, researchers and funders to relate to genetic \ninformation? I briefly examine what some communities and cultures \nmay have to say about genetic information and I attempt to tie all \nthese varying perspectives together. I find that it is not ownership per se that is often the subject of \ndispute, but how those who happen to have control over that \ninformation share it. I present a possible maxim to guide the sharing \nof genetic information with others; that patenting does not necessarily \namount to an affront to human dignity in the Kantian sense and that \ninter-cultural perspectives on genetic information may differ \nsignificantly. I conclude that how genetic material is shared, or not \nshared and why seems to depend more on the population in question \nat any given time and its social, political and economic structures \nthan on the question of ownership per se.
Authors: de Carvalho, Candice Lee
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2229480944