Murray T H, Livny E
School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106-4976.
Bull Med Libr Assoc. 1995 Jan;83(1):14-21.
This article explores some of the potential moral and social ramifications of the Human Genome Project. Research on the human genome is generating important ethical and social questions of at least three distinct kinds. First, what genetic information should be generated, and who should control its dissemination and use? Improved diagnostic techniques such as presymptomatic testing, carrier screening, and prenatal screening can provide information that poses significant ethical problems for individuals, employers and insurance companies, and the medical and counseling professions. Second, what genetic procedures should be employed? The burgeoning ability to manipulate human genotypes and phenotypes through procedures such as gene therapy and enzyme therapy are leading to difficult questions about which manipulations should be permitted and which should be prohibited. Third, how will this new information change lives? Increasing claims about the relationship of genetics to ethically and politically significant traits and behaviors are challenging human self-understanding and the capacity of social institutions to respond adequately.
本文探讨了人类基因组计划的一些潜在道德和社会影响。对人类基因组的研究正在引发至少三种不同类型的重要伦理和社会问题。首先，应该生成哪些遗传信息，以及谁应该控制其传播和使用？诸如症状前检测、携带者筛查和产前筛查等改进的诊断技术能够提供信息，但这些信息给个人、雇主、保险公司以及医学和咨询行业带来了重大伦理问题。其次，应该采用哪些基因程序？通过基因治疗和酶治疗等程序来操纵人类基因型和表型的能力不断增强，这引发了关于哪些操纵应被允许、哪些应被禁止的难题。第三，这些新信息将如何改变生活？越来越多关于遗传学与具有伦理和政治意义的特征及行为之间关系的说法，正在挑战人类的自我认知以及社会机构充分应对的能力。
