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34 J.L. Med. & Ethics 147 (2006)
Preface - DNA Fingerprinting and Civil Liberties

handle is hein.journals/medeth34 and id is 151 raw text is: SYMPOSIUM IPREBFACE DNA Fingerprinting and Civil Liberties Benjamin W. Moulton he American Society of Law, Medicine & Eth- ics initiated the DNA Fingerprinting and Civil Liberties Project in September of 2003 with funding from the National Institutes of Health (1-RO1 HG002836). The ethical, legal, and social issues aris- ing from the use of DNA forensics have not been fully explored, nor have the many questions raised by their application been adequately answered. Our research agenda was designed to investigate the various posi- tions on new and controversial issues surrounding DNA profiling and to educate policymakers so that they would better understand privacy and civil liberty issues involved in the application of DNA technology. To these ends, a series of small workshops were con- vened. Participants included ethicists, lawyers, politi- cal and social scientists, forensic experts, defense law- yers and prosecutors, and representatives of prisoners and parolees. Each workshop examined over two days the issues in a series of working groups, plenary ses- sions and public forums held at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The ASLME consultants and project team collected data, updat- ing information on international laws and regulations and procedures in order to ground workshop discus- sions. Topic issues were framed and vetted, discussion questions posed and syllabii developed for each specific workshop. Group leaders were designated and rappo- teurs noted areas of consensus and disagreement. The Benjamin W. Moulton, J.D., M.P.H., is the Executive Direc- tor of theAmerican Society ofLaw, Medicine & Ethics and the Principal Investigator for NIH 1-R01 HG002836. He holds an adjunct faculty appointment within the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health. conversation was active and robust but never conten- tious. Among the many topics explored were: (1) who should be included in forensic databases; (2) tissue col- lections as potential databases; (3) sample retention; (4) length of retention; (5) access to forensic DNA da- tabanks; (6) partial matches, and effects on relatives; (7) racial identification using DNA hapotype analysis; (8) resource allocation; (9) federal versus state roles; (10) role of medical personnel; (11) the autonomy of science; (12) uses of samples in medical research; (13) behavioral genetic research; (14) informed consent for research; (15) commercialization; (16) use for epide- miological purposes; (17) fiduciary issues versus the common good; (18) use of DNA collected for iden- tification in mass disasters; and (19) national DNA identification cards. The workshops were organized along thematic lines. The first workshop considered the technology of DNA fingerprinting and ethical and policy concerns sur- rounding the collection and retention of DNA samples. The second workshop was designed to bring together a multi-disciplinary group of experts to explore privacy and civil liberties issues related to the application of DNA technology to the criminal justice system. The third workshop posed questions on the research and ownership of samples. The ethical and policy impli- cations of medical and behavioral research on DNA samples was debated, and participants examined how broadly can DNA collected for identification in mass disasters be used for other purposes. The fourth and final workshop addressed an issue of vast significance, the use of DNA in exonerating innocents, and novel issues related to the effects of DNA identification on family relationships. The workshops were recorded JOURNAL OF LAW, MEDICINE & ETHICS

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