Main description:

The "Genetics, Man, and Society" symposium was a collaborative effort of the Task Force on Genetics and Reproduction at Yale University and the Youth Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (A. A. A. S. ). The Task Force on Genetics and Reproduction at Yale is a voluntary, inter-professional organization engaged in examination of ethical and social implications of medical and basic genetics. It is similar in purpose to the Hastings Institute of Society, Ethics, and Life Sciences and the Kennedy Center for the Study of Bioethics at Georgetown. The Youth Council of A. A. A. S. was a committee of the A. A. A. S. concerned with problems of young persons. The Youth Council had significant impact on the A. A. A. S. through the constitutional reform and a number of innovative programs including the Congressional Fellows and Regional Centers Program, and the Committees on Minorities and Women. The symposium was initially conceived by William Drayton and Richard A. Tropp and was arranged by us. The Task Force took primary responsibility for format and for selecting and inviting speakers. The Youth Council made the arrangements, raised the necessary funds and represented the organizers for post-symposium use of the materials including printed and taped publications. This volume contains the edited proceedings of the symposium plus the editors' perspective on it.

Contents:

I. Progress and Problems in Medical Genetics.- Medical Genetics: Progress and Problems.- Genetic Evaluation of the Human Fetus in Utero: Present and Future Perspectives.- In Vitro Fertilization and its Uses in Animals and Man.- Progress in Medical Genetics: Legal Problems.- Discussion.- II. Counseling and Screening: Choosing Our Children's Genes.- Choosing My Children's Genes: Genetic Counseling.- Genetic Counseling: Some Psychological Considerations.- Down's Syndrome in the Family: A Personal Perspective.- The Right to Choose or To Ignore.- Discussion.- III. Choosing Our Children's Genes: Impact on Society.- The Moral Threat of Personal Medicine.- Genetics, Choice and Society.- Choosing Our Children's Genes.- Ethical Issues in Genetic Choices.- Discussion.- IV. How can Society's Decision-Making Institutions be Made to Face the Long-Term Consequences of Individual Genetic Choices?.- Societal Mechanisms to Cope with the Application of Advances in the New Biology.- The Regulation of Genetic Engineering.- Judicial Roles in Genetic Decision-Making.- Congressional Interest in the Ethical Problems of Biomedical Technology.- Discussion.- V. Editors' Perspective.- Choosing Our Children's Genes: On the Need to Learn How People Choose.- VI. Suggestions for Further Reading.- Contributors.- Discussants.