ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates genetic information, like many illnesses, affects the entire family and not only the individual patient. It examines the last hypothesis of this study, namely whether the legal and ethical positions reflect medical practices and suggests that illness is a family matter. The doctors' belief that family members have an important role in health care led them to speculate whether the doctor should provide care to family members to improve the patient's condition, or whether the relatives deserve medical help in their own right. The socio-medical literature on the issue of coping with terminal illnesses reflects a position where family members are treated in their own right. Concentrating on the decision whether or not to disclose medical information the principle of confidentiality adds another layer to the tension between patients and relatives. An intermediate approach may be found in the area of medical ethics, which combines legal and medical conceptions.
