Many social scientists and commentators have expressed ethical concerns about the acceleration of genetic science and testing, and the increasing commercialization of the field, in the last few decades. While there is a growing body of work on how bench scientists view the potential of genetic technologies, as well as patient responses to the offerings of genomic knowledge, there remains relatively little social science research on the personal and professional views of master’s-trained genetic counselors, a growing profession of clinicians who are often the key medical actors translating increasingly complex genetic information to patients, as well as physicians. This study fills in this lacuna by examining the perspectives of over 60 genetic counselors in the U.S. on the ethical issues the profession faces in three different settings: clinical, research, and industry. By asking what genetic counselors themselves think about their professional responsibilities, this study interrogates the ethical tensions these specific genetic professionals encounter in their work and how they attempt to “do ethics” in the various work with which they now engage. In so doing this article examines how this growing profession positions itself and its role in knowledge production, genomic translations, and genetic decision-making in the context of heated political and bioethical debates about the field in which they are engaged.
Author: Susan Markens, Lehman College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
