Legal issues in fertility treatment.

This article examines the law relating to the provision of fertility treatment in an international context. It is argued that the legal framework that was developed from the findings of the Warnock Report faces increasing challenges, not just from technological advances, but from major shifts in the legal landscape. In particular, this article examines the likely impact of the patriation of the European Convention of Human Rights into United Kingdom law after the enactment of the Human Rights Act 1998.

[Insurance and genetics - options to prevent undesirable consequences]. / Versicherung und Genetik - Optionen zur Verhinderung unerwünschter Auswirkungen.

The article analyses the different options to prevent or alleviate the undesirable consequences of molecular genetic information in the sphere of insurance. It distinguishes between macro-, meso- and micro-options. The options are examined in respect of their probability to be realised.

Euroscreen 2: towards community policy on insurance, commercialization and public awareness.

The project Euroscreen 2 has examined genetic screening and testing with particular reference to implications for insurance, commercialization through marketing of genetic tests direct to the public, and issues surrounding raising public awareness of these and other developments in genetics, including the practical experiment of a Gene Shop. This paper provides a snapshot of the three year project. The study group's work included monitoring developments in different European countries and exploring possibilities for regulation in insurance and commercialization together with public attitudes to regulation. The success or failure of different strategies is not independent of public awareness. Exploration of policy, however, also requires examination of fundamental concepts such as solidarity and geneticization.

Legal and policy issues in genetics and insurance.

Genetic screening and testing techniques provide a powerful diagnostic tool for the acquisition of predictive information. The potential value of such diagnostic techniques cannot be overstated. However, commercial organisations such as insurance companies and employers are also highly interested in the acquisition and use of genetic information. Concerns about the potential abuse of genetic information have stimulated a counter-current of public pressure for restrictions on the use which can be made of genetic diagnostic information. In a number of countries this pressure has generated enough concern to stimulate legislatures to enact laws which curtail the use and acquisition of genetic information. This pattern has clearly emerged in the United States of America and there are indications that similar trends are developing in Europe. This paper examines the law and policy issues arising from the interface between genetics and insurance.

Genetic screening and ethics: European perspectives.

Analysis and comparison of genetic screening programs shows that the extent of development of programs varies widely across Europe. Regional variations are due not only to genetic disease patterns but also reflect the novelty of genetic services. In most countries, the focus for genetic screening programs has been pregnant women and newborn children. Newborn children are screened only for disorders which are treatable. Prenatal screening when provided is for conditions for which termination may be offered. The only population screening programs for adults are those for thalassaemia carrier status in Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Social responses to genetic screening range from acceptance to hostility. There is a fundamental tension between individual and community in the debates in various European countries about implementation of screening programs. Opposition to genetic screening is frequently expressed in terms of arguments about "eugenics" with insufficient regard to the meaning of the term and its implications. Only a few countries have introduced explicit legislation on genetic screening. Legislation to address discrimination may provide more safeguards than legislation protecting genetic information itself.

Human gene therapy and slippery slope arguments.

Any suggestion of altering the genetic makeup of human beings through gene therapy is quite likely to provoke a response involving some reference to a 'slippery slope'. In this article the author examines the topography of two different types of slippery slope argument, the logical slippery slope and the rhetorical slippery slope argument. The logical form of the argument suggests that if we permit somatic cell gene therapy then we are committed to accepting germ line gene therapy in the future because there is no logically sustainable distinction between them. The rhetorical form posits that allowing somatic cell therapy now will be taking the first step on a slippery slope which will ultimately lead to the type of genocide perpetrated by the Nazis. The author tests the validity of these lines of argument against the facts of human gene therapy and concludes that because of their dependence on probabilities that cannot be empirically proven they should be largely disregarded in the much more important debate on moral line-drawing in gene therapy.