• Technology

• Health

• Environment

• Project Co-ordinator: Priv.-Doz. Dr. med. Felix Thiele, M. Sc.

• Memorandum: C. R. Bartram et al.: Humangenetische Diagnostik. Wissenschaftliche Grundlagen und gesellschaftliche Konsequenzen. Springer 2000 (Ethics of Science and Technology Assessment, Vol. 7)

• Duration: 4/98–3/00

• Funding: Foundation for Innovation Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate); German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)

• Further Information on “Human Genetics”

Research on the human genome and the diagnostic and clinical areas of application of its results raise many types of ethical questions. For the treatment of many of these problems, there are no well attuned and accepted societal procedures.
The work of the project group has been focused on the consequences of the application of genetic diagnostics on the health care system. The group investigated the extent to which genetic diagnostics should be obtainable on prescription only. Moreover the group dealt with the probable impact of genetic diagnostics on the insurance market. The group concluded that – certain conditions met – it is morally justified to use genetic diagnostics in the insurance system.
The project was carried out as accompanying ethical research in the BioRegion Rhein-Neckar-Dreieck.

Human Genetics