Consensus too soon: judges’ and lawyers’ views on genetic information use

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Selita, Fatos; Chapman, Robert; Kovas, Yulia; Smereczynska, Vanessa; Likhanov, Maxim and Toivainen, Teemu. 2023. Consensus too soon: judges’ and lawyers’ views on genetic information use. New Genetics and Society, 42(1), e2197583. ISSN 1463-6778 [Article]

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2023.2197583

Abstract or Description

Timely effective regulation of genetic advances presents a challenge for justice systems. We used a 51-item battery to examine views on major genetics-related issues of those at the forefront of regulating this area – Supreme Court judges (N = 73). We also compared their views with those of other justice stakeholders (N = 210) from the same country (Romania). Judges showed greater endorsement and less variability in views on the use of genetic data and technologies than the other groups. The agreement among the judges was strikingly strong for some controversial issues, including gene editing; patenting of genetic findings; and the State using genetic information for crime prevention. Judges and other lawyers recognized the need for amending the relevant laws. Without appropriate regulation, genetic science has a risk of propelling inequality rather than fulfilling its promise to improve people’s lives.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1080/14636778.2023.2197583

Data Access Statement:

All data are available upon request from the corresponding author (fatos.selita@gold.ac.uk).

Keywords:

Judges’ opinions; lawyers’ opinions; genomic era laws; genetic data misuse; genetic discrimination; gene editing; gene-base crime prevention

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Psychology

Dates: