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Informacja genetyczna a zakres autonomii jednostki w europejskiej przestrzeni prawnej [Genetic Information and the Scope of Personal Autonomy in the European Legal Area]

This book is a comprehensive analysis of legal and ethical issues arising in the context of genetics in German, English, Polish and European law. Individual chapters examine the questions of the legal status of genetic information in International and European law, the limits of personal autonomy with regard to pre-implantation, prenatal and post-natal genetic testing, and genetic counselling. The book was written over a 4 year period and research time prior to publication in June 2008 was devoted to in-depth analysis of English regulation of genetics and to editing work which lead to the publication of the book.

The book explores various legal challenges for the delimitation of individual autonomy, integrity, and privacy that occur in the context of genetics in health care. It is a comparative study of German, Polish and English regulations concerning pre-implantation, prenatal, and postnatal genetic testing in light of European and international law. The main argument is based on an anti-exceptionalist and contextualist stance toward the regulation of genetic data. The author concludes that advances in biomedicine add a new dimension to old human rights debates strengthening the justification of certain legal claims. Enhanced communication platforms are needed to redefine existing rights.