The concise argument

What do doctors think?

The close and dynamic relationship between medical ethics and medical practice is shown to be alive and well in this month’s issue, with three papers that examine various aspects of clinical practice and the attitudes of the medical profession.

A study by F A Miller and colleagues examines the attitudes of healthcare practitioners towards disclosure of incidental findings (such as carrier status) from newborn screening programmes (see page 626). The authors find considerable support for full disclosure largely on the basis of clinical duty, notwithstanding potential ethical concerns, but also a minority who supported reasons against disclosure, based on arguments such as the possibility of harm ensuing from disclosure or the right of the child to choose whether to seek this information in future. This study provides a useful empirical complement to more theoretical ethical arguments about disclosure of genetic information, and raises the questions of how prevailing clinical practices and beliefs ought to influence public policy in areas where there is ethical debate, and how dissenting opinions in such matters should be weighed.

Dwarswaard et al present …