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Should Whole Genome Sequencing be Publicly Funded for Everyone as a Matter of Healthcare Justice?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2022

Leonard M. Fleck  and
Leslie Francis
Leonard M. Fleck
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy and Center for Bioethics and Social Justice, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan48824, USA
Leslie Francis*
Affiliation:
Department of Philosophy and S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah81112, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email. francisl@law.utah.edu
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Abstract

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Type
Special Section: Open Forum
Information
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics , Volume 31 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 5 - 15
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

Notes

1. I will remind the reader that few gene mutations are 100 percent penetrant. Most common diseases are a product of multiple genes in addition to environmental factors that may or may not be known. If someone has the 4/4 variant of APOE, they have an 80 percent risk of Alzheimer’s dementia by their late 60s. They may not alter that genetic fact about themselves, but they may re-order life plans with that knowledge.

2. Park A. Geisinger DNA sequencing program identified genetic risks in 5000 people in its 1st year. Becker’s Hospital Review; 2019 November 5; available at https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/geisinger-dna-sequencing-program-identified-genetic-risks-in-5-000-people-in-its-1st-year.html (last accessed 10 Mar 2021).

3. In a public health context, think how quickly we were able to identify the original COVID virus, as well as the emerging variants we are now encountering.

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