Assessment

Chuffed to read the following in Journal of Medical Ethics -

Ethical issues related to paternalism are also raised by Wendy Bonython and Bruce Arnold (see page 168) in their discussion of recent Australian genetic privacy law. This set out to ‘permit disclosure of an individual's genetic information, without their consent, to genetic relatives’ but subsequently was amended in delegated legislation by means and in ways which appear even less consistent with respect for consent and confidentiality. This highly informative account of Australia's brave but flawed attempt to tackle the thorny issue of unconsented disclosure of genetic information to other family members deserves study by lawmakers and clinicians alike.

The account is 'Disclosure 'downunder': misadventures in Australian genetic privacy law' in (2014) 40(3) J Med Ethics 168-172, which initially appeared in 2012.