Genetic testing pow-wow set to examine ethics

By Karen Carstens

Date: 29/04/04

THE European Commission seeks to kick-start a major debate on ethical issues surrounding genetic testing with a conference gathering hundreds of researchers and politicians on 6-7 May in Brussels.

Genetic testing is expected to revolutionize the medical sector, but throws up a host of explosive questions ranging from quality assurance to data protection or racial discrimination.

"This is a technology that is already being applied in several areas, but which many people remain unaware of because it does not directly affect them yet in their daily lives," said a Commission official.

Speakers at the conference will include Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and UK MEP Eryl McNally, vice-president of the European Parliament's scientific and technical options assessment committee.

McNally led a high-level expert group which, over a year-long period, produced a 120-page report on genetic testing.

Twenty-five key report recommendations will serve as the basis of discussion at the conference, which will focus on research and medical applications, with a view to crafting an appropriate ethical-judicial framework in which genetic testing can thrive.

Ensuring that medical research does not overlook rare diseases or conditions affecting only certain racial groups and establishing a central evaluating procedure will be among the issues addressed.

Other sensitive questions, for instance about how life insurance companies should deal with confidentiality vis-à-vis genetic data on clients, were touched upon in the McNally report, but have been "left out of the mix for now", the Commission official explained.

The full McNally report is due for release on 7 May.

European Commission: European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies (EGE) http://ec.europa.eu/comm/european_group_ethics/index_en.htm

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