Abstract
The proposed international guidelines for issues in medical genetics have a history that we sketch here before moving to the main question to be addressed in this paper: what is the case for these guidelines? In addressing this question, we also respond to several others, posed by the organizers of the conference. Why were the guidelines developed? What ethical principles underlie the guidelines? Even if widely adopted, what kind of moral authority can international guidelines have in the face of challenges in the name of cultural and moral diversity?
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References
Wertz DC, Fletcher JC, Berg K, Boulyjenkov V (1995) Guidelines on Ethical Issues in Medical Genetics and the Provision of Genetics Services. World Health Organization. Hereditary Diseases Program, 1995. [WHO document, WHO/HDP/GL/ETH/95.1, 1995. Single copies are available, on request, from Human Genetics Program, WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland] An additional shorter version has been published „Proposed International Guidelines on Ethical Issues in Medical Genetics and Genetics Services.“ Report of a WHO Meeting on Ethical Issues in Medical Genetics. World Health Organization, Human Genetics Program, Geneva, 1998 [Single copies are available, on request, from Human Genetics Program, WHO, 1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland]
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Fletcher, J.C., Wertz, D.C. (1999). The Case for Proposed International Guidelines on Ethical Issues in Medical Genetics. In: Nippert, I., Neitzel, H., Wolff, G. (eds) The New Genetics: From Research into Health Care. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58486-2_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58486-2_11
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