ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author focuses on the question of harm, rather than taste, because tastes tend to change over time: "Transplanting organs from the dead to the living was regarded by some as immoral, until it started saving lives. Many guidelines address late-onset disorders and the testing of children explicitly, and several of the critical issues put forward can be easily identified as general questions about the prediction of such diseases. Agreement on the helpfulness and usefulness of predictive genetic knowledge of diseases seems to have been reached, in the presence of available therapies for diseases and fatal predispositions identified, with the ability to cure or at least improve prognosis. As this new technology appears to be creating a framework for a new 'ethical reality', re-examination of the ethical basis for the careful, protective position against the genetic testing of minors for late-onset diseases is warranted.
