Social-science Perspectives on Bioethics: Predictive Genetic Testing (PGT) in Asia |
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Authors: | Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anthropology, University of Sussex, Falmer, nr Brighton, BN1 9SN, UK |
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Abstract: | In this essay, I indicate how social-science approaches can throw light on predictive genetic testing (PGT) in various societal
contexts. In the first section, I discuss definitions of various forms of PGT, and point out their inherent ambiguity and
inappropriateness when taken out of an ideal–typical context. In section two, I argue further that an ethics approach proceeding
from the point of view of the abstract individual in a given society should be supplemented by an approach that regards bioethics
as inherently ambiguous, contested, changeable and context-dependent. In the last section, I place these bioethical discussions
of PGT in the context of Asian communities. Here, a critical view of what constitutes a community and culture proves necessary
to understand the role of bioethical debates and the empirical manifestations of PGT in Asian societies. A discussion of the
concepts of family and kinship in relation to PGT indicates that any bioethical analysis has to take into account that bioethical
values are not just reflections of a cultural community, but embody both bioethical ideals and prevalent political rhetoric
which is exhibited, propagated and manipulated by individuals and collectives for a variety of purposes. I end by summarising
the contributions that social science could make to the understanding of the bioethics of PGT. |
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Keywords: | " target="_blank"> Molecular diagnostic techniques Genetic screening Asia Social sciences Culture |
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