Book contents
- Consumer Genetic Technologies
- Consumer Genetic Technologies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Consumer Genetic Technologies: Rights, Liabilities, and Other Obligations
- Introduction to Part I
- 1 Liability Implications of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
- 2 Consuming Genetics As a Life Insurance Consumer
- 3 In Favor of an Action for Genetic Conversion
- 4 Direct-to-Consumer Genomics and Personal Health Data
- 5 Governance in the Era of CRISPR and DIY-Bio
- Part II Privacy in the Age of Consumer Genetics
- Part III Tinkering with Ourselves: The Law and Ethics of DIY Genomics
- Part IV Consumer Genetics and Identity
- Part V The Impact of Genetic Information
3 - In Favor of an Action for Genetic Conversion
from Part I - Consumer Genetic Technologies: Rights, Liabilities, and Other Obligations
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 August 2021
- Consumer Genetic Technologies
- Consumer Genetic Technologies
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Part I Consumer Genetic Technologies: Rights, Liabilities, and Other Obligations
- Introduction to Part I
- 1 Liability Implications of Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing
- 2 Consuming Genetics As a Life Insurance Consumer
- 3 In Favor of an Action for Genetic Conversion
- 4 Direct-to-Consumer Genomics and Personal Health Data
- 5 Governance in the Era of CRISPR and DIY-Bio
- Part II Privacy in the Age of Consumer Genetics
- Part III Tinkering with Ourselves: The Law and Ethics of DIY Genomics
- Part IV Consumer Genetics and Identity
- Part V The Impact of Genetic Information
Summary
Traditionally, courts and legal scholars alike have rejected conversion claims related to DNA. Justifications for dismissing these causes of action include fears that they could hinder scientific research or commodify the human body. Judges and academics reason that–even absent actionable claims for genetic conversion–plaintiffs have access to adequate legal protections in the form of breach of fiduciary duty, lack of informed consent, invasion of privacy, or unjust enrichment. However, upon closer inspection, these claims reveal themselves as inadequate, particularly in the context of consumer genetics. People who purchase their genetic tests directly are not usually in the kinds of fiduciary or research relationships necessary to trigger legal duties. This chapter proposes that a right to genetic conversion could provide consumers with appropriate relief. Far from stifling research or disaggregating the self, genetic conversion is a modest solution for the ownership disputes that arise in the growing field of consumer genetics.
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- Consumer Genetic TechnologiesEthical and Legal Considerations, pp. 39 - 50Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
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