Genetics and Public Policy Center Newsletter

The Genetics and Public Policy Center has published another issue (pdf) of its quarterly newsletter: e-News and Perspectives.

The newsletter mentions recent opinion research that was presented at The 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine: Americans Support Genetic Technologies for Healthy Babies, Not Designer Babies.  From the press release:

"New research reveals U.S. public draws clear line between acceptable and unacceptable uses of these new tools of medical science.

Americans support using reproductive genetic technologies to prevent severe disease, but they are uncomfortable with using these technologies to select socially desirable traits such as eye color, intelligence, or height, says new research into U.S. public attitudes. At the same time, most Americans feel that the decisions about any use of these technologies should rest with individuals and their families.

These were the findings of the Genetics and Public Policy Center at Johns Hopkins University and funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, which conducted 21 focus groups in five U.S. cities to explore the public’s attitudes and beliefs on reproductive genetic technologies, including genetic testing of parents, embryos, and fetuses.

Other attitudes and beliefs of focus group participant include:

*Capricious use of technology will lead to unrealistic expectations of what it means to have a “perfect child.”

*There will be inequity in access to these technologies that will lead to greater class and racial disparities.

*The ability to prevent the birth of individuals with disease or disability will result in decreased efforts to find treatments or cures.

*Scientists do not have internally or externally imposed ethical limits on their research and thus cannot be trusted.

*Government will have a hard time enforcing regulations because people can travel outside regulated areas. Technology would go “underground,” and policies around reproduction would change significantly with White House Administrations.

*An essential role for government is to ensure the safety and efficacy of reproductive genetic technologies, monitor the outcomes, and promote equality in access to these technologies."

 

January 8, 2004 | Filed Under opinion-research 

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