Book Description

In this timely, provocative new book, Lois Wingerson explores advances in human genetic research--and how these advances are redefining the way we view ourselves and our world. Every week brings word of new genetic findings. It no longer startles us to read that a gene has been identified that predisposes an individual to breast cancer, to colon cancer, to Alzheimer's disease. From physical illnesses to behavioral traits, the mapping of our genes is moving with astonishing rapidity. Soon we will have extraordinary amounts of information about our most intimate selves. But--as this insightful, sometimes disturbing book makes clear--this new knowledge raises serious ethical, legal, and personal questions none of us can afford to ignore. On the heels of each new finding comes the capacity to test for the disorder the gene may activate, then the test itself--and then the questions. Just because the test is available, should we have it? The tests are often marketed by for-profit companies. Who is to determine what conditions warrant testing? Should it be up to the individual? A group of experts? A government agency? If a person learns he or she carries the gene for a particular disorder, what then? And, in the age of medical claim forms and computer networks, who else has access to that information? What if an employer finds out? If an insurance carrier denies future coverage? What about conceiving a child? Subjecting the fetus to prenatal genetic testing? If treatments for the condition lie well in the future, what benefit is it to know you or your child carry that gene? As the latest genetic breakthroughs make their way from the scientists' laboratories into individuals' lives, we will all face questions like these. In clear and accessible language, "Unnatural Selection takes us into the world of the researchers, physicians, ethicists, families, and people like ourselves as they contemplate the promise and consider the pitfalls of this exploding field of knowledge.