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Ethics
Paper
The right not to know: the case of psychiatric disorders
  1. Lisa Bortolotti,
  2. Heather Widdows
  1. Philosophy Department, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
  1. Correspondence to Lisa Bortolotti, Philosophy Department, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; l.bortolotti{at}bham.ac.uk

Abstract

This paper will consider the right not to know in the context of psychiatric disorders. It will outline the arguments for and against acquiring knowledge about the results of genetic testing for conditions such as breast cancer and Huntington's disease, and examine whether similar considerations apply to disclosing to clients the results of genetic testing for psychiatric disorders such as depression and Alzheimer's disease. The right not to know will also be examined in the context of the diagnosis of psychiatric disorders that are associated with stigma or for which there is no effective treatment.

  • Truth disclosure
  • genetic screening/testing

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial License, which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non commercial and is otherwise in compliance with the license. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/ and http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2010.041111

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    Footnotes

    • Competing interests None.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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