Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context
There has been much discussion in recent years about the ethical and legal status of human DNA. This topic is of great relevance and importance to Aboriginal communities because the question of who has the right of access to and control over the DNA of individual persons, or of DNA extracted from hu...
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fterudit:oai:erudit.org:1012839ar 2023-05-15T16:08:12+02:00 Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context Pullman, Daryl Nicholas, George P. 2011 http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1012839ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1012839ar en eng Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc. Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) Érudit Études/Inuit/Studies vol. 35 no. 1-2 (2011) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1012839ar doi:10.7202/1012839ar Tous droits réservés © La revue Études/Inuit/Studies, 2011 text 2011 fterudit https://doi.org/10.7202/1012839ar 2022-09-24T23:14:52Z There has been much discussion in recent years about the ethical and legal status of human DNA. This topic is of great relevance and importance to Aboriginal communities because the question of who has the right of access to and control over the DNA of individual persons, or of DNA extracted from human remains, could have implications for an entire community. In another context an individual’s decision to contribute a blood sample for health research could reveal much about the health status of other members of the community. Who has the right to control access to DNA or a community’s narrative of its origins? While some have argued that human DNA should be considered cultural property in order to ensure appropriate control of genetic information, we question the wisdom of this approach. Although we acknowledge that the differing contexts in which DNA is extracted and utilised could require unique approaches in some circumstances, we argue that emphasis should be primarily on the nature of the relationships established and maintained between researchers and descendant communities and only secondarily on the unique status of the DNA itself. Il a beaucoup été question ces dernières années du statut éthique et juridique de l’ADN humain. Ce sujet est d’une grande importance et pertinence pour les communautés autochtones car la question de qui a le droit d’accès à l’ADN des individus et à son contrôle, ou à l’ADN extrait de restes humains, pourrait avoir des implications pour l’ensemble d’une communauté. Dans un autre contexte, la décision d’un individu de contribuer, par un échantillon de sang, à la recherche médicale pourrait en dire long sur l’état de santé des autres membres de la communauté. Qui a le droit de contrôler l’accès à l’ADN ou au récit d’une communauté concernant ses origines? Même si certains ont soutenu que l’ADN humain devrait être considéré comme une propriété culturelle afin de pouvoir assurer le contrôle approprié du code génétique, nous doutons de la validité de cette approche. Bien que nous ... Text Études/Inuit/Studies Érudit.org (Université Montréal) Études/Inuit/Studies 35 1-2 143 164 |
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There has been much discussion in recent years about the ethical and legal status of human DNA. This topic is of great relevance and importance to Aboriginal communities because the question of who has the right of access to and control over the DNA of individual persons, or of DNA extracted from human remains, could have implications for an entire community. In another context an individual’s decision to contribute a blood sample for health research could reveal much about the health status of other members of the community. Who has the right to control access to DNA or a community’s narrative of its origins? While some have argued that human DNA should be considered cultural property in order to ensure appropriate control of genetic information, we question the wisdom of this approach. Although we acknowledge that the differing contexts in which DNA is extracted and utilised could require unique approaches in some circumstances, we argue that emphasis should be primarily on the nature of the relationships established and maintained between researchers and descendant communities and only secondarily on the unique status of the DNA itself. Il a beaucoup été question ces dernières années du statut éthique et juridique de l’ADN humain. Ce sujet est d’une grande importance et pertinence pour les communautés autochtones car la question de qui a le droit d’accès à l’ADN des individus et à son contrôle, ou à l’ADN extrait de restes humains, pourrait avoir des implications pour l’ensemble d’une communauté. Dans un autre contexte, la décision d’un individu de contribuer, par un échantillon de sang, à la recherche médicale pourrait en dire long sur l’état de santé des autres membres de la communauté. Qui a le droit de contrôler l’accès à l’ADN ou au récit d’une communauté concernant ses origines? Même si certains ont soutenu que l’ADN humain devrait être considéré comme une propriété culturelle afin de pouvoir assurer le contrôle approprié du code génétique, nous doutons de la validité de cette approche. Bien que nous ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Pullman, Daryl Nicholas, George P. |
spellingShingle |
Pullman, Daryl Nicholas, George P. Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
author_facet |
Pullman, Daryl Nicholas, George P. |
author_sort |
Pullman, Daryl |
title |
Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
title_short |
Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
title_full |
Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
title_fullStr |
Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
title_full_unstemmed |
Intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human DNA: The (ir)relevance of context |
title_sort |
intellectual property and the ethical/legal status of human dna: the (ir)relevance of context |
publisher |
Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc. |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1012839ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1012839ar |
genre |
Études/Inuit/Studies |
genre_facet |
Études/Inuit/Studies |
op_relation |
Études/Inuit/Studies vol. 35 no. 1-2 (2011) http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1012839ar doi:10.7202/1012839ar |
op_rights |
Tous droits réservés © La revue Études/Inuit/Studies, 2011 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7202/1012839ar |
container_title |
Études/Inuit/Studies |
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35 |
container_issue |
1-2 |
container_start_page |
143 |
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164 |
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1766404256075612160 |