ETHICS AND MEDICAL GENETICS

Abstract

Medical genetics may be distinguished from other medical specialities by its
family dimension. Genetics raises many questions in the field of ethics
concerning the potential applications in clinical medicine, in particular
because of the technological evolution of human genetics in the medical field
and the genetic research on the charting of the human genome. Human
genetics involves filiation and questions the foundation of our society and the
potential standardisation of human beings. The prescription of genetic tests is
a tool for doctors but its use should be measured and carefully thought out
according to the questions asked and the results expected. Examination of this
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issue within the context of the bioethics laws in France has made it possible
to establish a framework for a certain number of practices so as to answer
certain questions in human genetics. This article attempts to review the
situation as it stands today with regard to the ethical issues raised by genetic
tests, presymptomatic diagnosis, prenatal and pre-implantation diagnosis,
and bio-collections.