Dr Jacqueline Savard1
1Deakin University
Advances in genetics and genomics provide new and powerful ways for individuals to explore their past and predict their futures. This has led to the development of what is often called consumer genetics. Consumer genetics appears to offer the inevitable and valuable democratization and dissemination of biomedical knowledge through genetic testing. Unfortunately, there is often a discrepancy between consumer expectations of what the tests may provide (why consumers seek testing) and the explanatory power they have (what testing reveals). This discrepancy is where testing can (and sometimes does) expose what is uncertain or unknown about one’s past or future.
Drawing on initial empirical research in Australia on consumer genetic testing use, the results of this research suggest that while testing may have value, both for consumers and for society, a greater consideration of socio-political influences is needed. Importantly, these considerations make it possible to understand and reconcile competing values and ethics that challenge the role genomic information is now assuming in daily life. In this presentation, I argue that we need to re-examine the field of consumer genetics, considering the socio-political landscape that has shaped its current existence, the ways in which consumers have been informed and engaged with this technology and how consumer genetics itself challenges both public and institutional understandings about the role and power of genetic information. Moving forward, this will enable a fresh perspective on the field, thereby providing the space for renewed ethical critique and engagement about what it means to explore one’s genetic self.
Biography:
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