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Bioethics and the Federal Government

Some Implications for Psychiatric Genetics

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Genetics and Mental Illness

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Abstract

Psychiatric genetics lies at the confluence of several turbulent streams in social policy. It increasingly involves the tools of molecular genetics, one of the fastest evolving areas of modern science; it taps into the ethics of genetic research, particularly the special aspects of family studies; and it deals with clinical conditions that by definition hinder normal mental functions, thus complicating the process by which individuals agree to participate in research. The symptoms of psychiatric conditions are behavioral, and the study of how genes influence behavior has long been attended by controversy. As historian Daniel Kevles noted, “In its ongoing fascination with questions of behavior, human genetics will undoubtedly yield information that may be wrong, or socially volatile, or, if the history of eugenic science is any guide, both” (Kevles & Hood, 1992).

Identify the requirements for informed consent to participation in biomedical and behavioral research ... by the institutionalized mentally infirm ... to determine the nature of the consent obtained from such persons or their legal representatives before such persons were involved in such research; the adequacy of the information given them respecting the nature and purpose of the research, procedures to be used, risks and discomforts, anticipated benefits from the research, and other matters necessary for informed consent; and the competence and the freedom of the persons to make a choice for or against involvement in such research. [National Commission, 1978d]

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  1. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 20418, USA

    Robert Mullan Cook-Deegan

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  1. National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Arlington, Virginia, USA

    Laura Lee Hall

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Cook-Deegan, R.M. (1996). Bioethics and the Federal Government. In: Hall, L.L. (eds) Genetics and Mental Illness. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0170-5_9

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