Law, Ethics and Society
Law, Ethics and Society Researchers
The New Zealand Law Foundation-sponsored 'Human Genome Research Project' is a multi-disciplinary three-year project that will analyse whether and, if so, how and to what extent, human genome-based technologies should be regulated in New Zealand.
Rapid advances in genetics create dilemmas for medicine, ethics and the law. New knowledge and discoveries from genetics raise questions about clinical applications that will inevitably have economic implications with regard to funding and availability, and generate wider cultural and social questions. The range of appropriate responses will need to be based on deep and coherent ethical, legal and public policy consideration of the issues.
The project is led by the Law Faculty at the University of Otago and involves the Bioethics Centre. The project is supported by a team of New Zealand and international researchers in Law, Bioethics, Science, Māori and Paediatrics.
Research in the first year of the project looked into issues relating to preimplantation genetic diagnosis. The project team carried out a systematic investigation of the issues and published a report that was launched on 1 August 2006 at the Grand Hall, Parliament.
Research for the second year of the project extends from additional issues about preimplantation genetic diagnosis to other areas that include newborn genetic screening, genetic testing of children, community genetics, and microarray technologies. The role of public consultation in reproductive technologies is also explored. The report for the second year of the project will be published in 2007.
In the third year of the project, research will be undertaken in the areas of patenting, pharmacogenetics and privacy. Issues about the regulation of extracted DNA and the responsibility of researchers will be examined, in addition to research that continues on the work carried out in previous years. The report for the third year of the project was published in 2008.