Tuesday, February 24, 2004, 7PM | Room A118 Pendergrass Library / Veterinarian Hospital [Directions...]
Genetics: [Film] [Issues] [Science] [Resources]

Our Genes, Our Choices: Who Gets to Know?

Fred Friendly Seminars
Directed by Mark Ganguzza, Written by Jay Ward Brown
Fred Friendly Seminars / Thirteen WNET NY, 2003
57 minutes

Moderator Arthur Miller, professor at Harvard Law School, leads an intense, provocative and often humorous discussion that reveals the far-reaching implications of genetic testing.

To a group of 13 distinguished panelists, he presents a myriad of questions concerning genetic testing, the right to privacy, and the implications of test results in all areas of one's life. Panelists include Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, ABC News correspondent Cynthia McFadden, Mark A. Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville, Nancy C. Wexler, professor of Neuropsychology at Columbia University and president of the Hereditary Disease Foundation, and other participants from the fields of adoption, law, genetics, employment and medicine. Each panelist speaks not only from his or her own expertise, but also assumes a role in the hypothetical life of the moderator. Thus panelists take on the guise of Miller's sister, brother, fiancée, old friend, lawyer, business partner, etc. And each panelist becomes involved in Miller's supposed family history of cancer and the dilemma it provokes - should he undergo genetic testing? If so, who should know the results?

As scientific researchers work to uncover what specific genetic sequences of the human genome mean, the largest challenge may be the one facing us - how to live with genetic information. Should a man with a family history of cancer get tested for genetic markers that could indicate his risk for developing cancer? Will that knowledge add to or detract from his quality of life? Who would you want to know your personal genetic profile? What will happen if his insurance company finds out? Would his fiancée want to know that his future health is questionable? Should he be eligible to adopt a child - and insist that the child be genetically tested too? Does his employer have a right to know? Genetic testing can already reveal a predisposition to diseases like breast cancer and Alzheimer's, and genetic science offers the hope of treatment and cures. But how will we handle what scientists are learning?

From ethical dilemmas that cut to the heart of personal relationships to practical consequences that can determine life choices, Who Gets to Know? offers a compelling and thought-provoking discourse on the far-reaching ethical, social, legal and economic implications of genetic testing. Reflecting on how genetic testing may affect her health insurance, panel member Congresswoman Slaughter says, "I really feel that this is the greatest science and the potential is so wonderful and so marvelous. I'm just afraid of the consequences."