ARGUMENTS AGAINST GENE TESTING
…can be divided into 4 major separate categories:
- Implications for the individual
- Implications for the family
- Implications for society
- Implications for the medical industry and doctors
- IMPLICATIONS ON THE INDIVIDUAL
- Testing only gives indication if the gene coding for the disease is present and does not necessarily mean the trait will definitely be expressed
- cause of unnecessary stress and fear; possibly result in a limited upbringing/life
- a stigma is attached to the person tested positive for a gene coding for the disease, affecting employment, health insurance and loans
- feeling of isolation from family or society
- the child was never given the choice if he/she wanted to know about the decision
- Preventative measures for the disease may possibly be very expensive or life changing and permanent.
- IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FAMILY
- Do children or siblings with a genetic order deserve to know? What if they don’t want to know? How can we ensure that patients will respect the wishes of their family members who do not want to know?
- Potential for family breakdown
- In the case where someone is forced to know. For instance, the grandma is positive for the gene and has the disease. Her daughter doesn’t want to know if she has the gene. However, the grandchild does want to know and gets tested. If the results come back positive, the mother will automatically know she has the gene; thus she was forced into knowing
- Stress on the family that may all be unnecessary because the gene may never be expressed
- May result in increased abortion rates
- Effect on marriages and relationships, potentially higher divorce rate; may stress the couples who want to have children but are fearful of gene testing results: possibly resulting in marriage breakdowns.
- IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIETY
- Testing, no doubt will cost money. It will be very difficult to control and ensure equal access to everyone in society. The situation where only people with money will be able to have the gene tests may occur; hence segregating society.
- Costs of preventative treatment and counseling for a disease that may or may not develop could be very costly on families and individuals. Once again, access becomes an issue.
- Treatment may not be available.
- Employment as well as schooling, finance and health services will severely be affected if genetic testing becomes a more prevalent aspect of health in society – especially on equal opportunity and discrimination
- Potentially the branching of gene selection for superior traits (to a lesser extent, GATTACA) Access to this technology may further segregate society as not everyone agrees to genetic testing and gene manipulation.
- Catering to the individual needs vs the effects on society
- IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY AND DOCTORS
- The balance between a patient’s confidentiality and a doctor’s duty of care to other patients. In the situation where a person is tested positive for a genetic disease that is inherited but refuses to let his siblings know about his condition, there is a potential for his/her siblings to also have the gene.
- By respecting confidentiality, this becomes an ethical dilemma where the idea of beneficence or doing no harm is question. Doing nothing, where early treatment and diagnosis is beneficial for the siblings could be considered unethical.
- However, telling the siblings will breach on a patients confidentiality and privacy
- This ultimately leads to a situation where the medical industry may lose a lot of respect and trust from patients and the public as a whole no matter what course of action they take
- Increased stress in doctors
- Potentially a trend in more accounts of depression in doctors, may lead to increased suicide rates in a professional that already has a very high rate.
- Also, running tests on the siblings without stating the reason is a dangerous method of medical practice. What if the siblings didn’t want to know? According to the tort of battery, this constitute an illegal consent and thus invalid. Could result in doctors being sued, as the patient was not informed of why the procedure was carried out.
- Increased law suits against doctors once again reflect badly on the medical industry.
posted by Nougat Kids @ 5:19 AM
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Breast Cancer men
Common Breast Cancer Myths
The first myth pertaining to this disease is that it only affects women.
Second myth that is associated with this disease is that if one has found a lump during an examination, it is cancer.
Third is that it is solely hereditary
The next myth associated with breast cancer is downright ridiculous. Would you believe, that in this day and age, some individuals still think that breast cancer is contagious?
Conversely, some individuals foolishly believe that breast size determines whether or not one gets cancer.
Finally, another myth that is associated with this disease is that it only affects older people. This is not so. Although the chance of getting breast cancer increases with age, women as young as 18 have been diagnosed with the disease.
You can find a number of helpful informative articles on Breast Cancer men at breast-cancer1.com
Breast Cancer men
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