Abstract
The question concerning an individual's rightto remain in ignorance regarding her owngenetic makeup is central to debates aboutgenetic information. Whatever is decided onthis matter has a weighty bearing on all of therelated third-party issues, such as whetherfamily members or employers should be toldabout an individual's genetic makeup. Thosearguing that no right to genetic ignoranceexists tend to argue from a viewpoint I havecalled in this paper reasonablepaternalism. It is an appealing position whichrests on widely shared intuitions on reasonablechoices, but which, in the end, smugglespaternalism back to medical practice.
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Takala, T. Genetic Ignorance and Reasonable Paternalism. Theor Med Bioeth 22, 485–491 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013019120277
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013019120277