【分析解答题】

Does Genetic Research Threaten OurCivil Liberties TheCurrent Genetic ResearchThe science of genetics is a flourishing new industry, nourished in large part by the federally funded Human Genome Project. The goal of this ambitious research endeavor is to identify every gene found in the human body, perhaps 100,000 in all. Several months ago, the U.S. government and a private corporation announced that they had "completed" the "map" of the genome, although actually there are still many gaps. Much related research focuses on genetic diagnostics— tests designed to identify genes thought to be associated with various medical conditions. More than 50 new genetic tests have been identified in the past five years alone.The increasing speed, sophistication, affordability, and interconnectivity of computer systems allow the rapid monitoring and matching of many millions of records.

A、1994 benchmark study by theACLU found that "concerns about personal privacy run deep among theAmerican people".The promotion of an ideology of geneticization fosters the belief that genes are determinative of an individual’’s behavior, character, and future.Capitalist economic relations have created a scramble (争夺) for venture capital, the altering of patent laws, and calls for mass genetic testing by researchers who trade on the old image of the altruistic scientist to mask their conflicts of interest in testing labs, patents, consulting contracts, etC、The Technological SocietyTechnologies are not value-neutral; they usually embody the perspectives, purposes, and political objectives of powerful social groups. The dominant ideology in Western society proclaims that science and technology are value-neutral, and the only problems caused by technologies are either "externalities" (unintended side effects) or abuses. However, because technologies are the result of human interventions into the otherwise natural progression of activities (and not acts of God or of nature), they are themselves actually imbued with human intentions and purposes.Current technologies do not equally benefit all segments of society (and indeed are not intended to do so), although to maximize public support for these developments and to minimize potential opposition, their proponents rarely acknowledge these distributional ramifications (分歧).The United States is a society in which the differential access to wealth and power has been exacerbated during recent years. Thus, those people with more power can determine the kinds of technological developments that are researched and implementeD、Because of their size, scale, and requirements for capital investments and for knowledge, modern technologies are powerful interventions into the natural order. They tend to be the mechanisms by which already powerful groups extend, manifest, and further consolidate their powers. Thus, technologies themselves are not neutral; they are social and political phenomen
A、Genetic technologies and computerization exhibit these characteristics, and reflect power differentials in the society.The results of technological advancement appear to offer a good future—capabilities of enhanced surveillance (监视) and control over people and events, as well as promises of perfectionism (thus leading to both a loss of privacy and increased opportunities for discrimination by powerful entities). Predictability will replace a tolerance for natural variation and diversity.Loss of PrivacyGenetic privacy, like medical privacy in general, involves notions of the dignity and integrity of the individual. Is data accurateCan individuals access their own filesCan the donor correct inaccurate dataAre the custodians faithful and are technical security systems protecting the data where possibleDoes die individual have control over which third parties are allowed access, and under what conditions --Infant blood tests are stored in database. The U.S.Department ofDe