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13 Med. & L. 417 (1994)
Behaviour Modification by Genetic Intervention - The Law's Response

handle is hein.journals/mlv13 and id is 421 raw text is: Med Law (1994) 13:417-431 Medicine and Law CICML 1994 Genetics Behaviour Modification by Genetic Intervention - The Law's Response ML Lupton Professor and Director, School of Law, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa Abstract The Human Genome Initiative has stimulated research worldwide into mankind's genetic structure. It has led to identifying and understanding the function of many genes which cause illnesses, deformities, organ malfunctions and, more recently, behavioural ab- errations. The science of gene therapy has developed in tandem and has initiated therapeutic treatment by the replacement of defective genes in humans. In the legal sphere guidelines for the application of gene therapy have been recommended by the Council of Europe, the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and the United States amongst others. South Africa has adopted the guidelines of the American National Institutes of Health. It is however submitted that third world countries such as South Africa have many other more basic health care problems on which to spend their limited resources despite hav- ing the technology to practise gene therapy. 1 THE NEED FOR GENE THERAPY Genetic diseases account for a significant amount of human suffering. About 4% of all infants born in the United States and Canada are affected by a birth defect. Approximately one in 200 births is affected by a chro- mosomal abnormality whereas one to two per 100 are affected by a single gene disorder, most often recessive in character. The remainder of the dis- orders are presumed to be multifactorial in aetiology (the study of the origins and causes of disease). This means that more than one gene is involved and/ or environmental factors also play a role.' The human genome is contained on 46 chromosomes of various sizes containing over three billion base pairs comprising an estimated 50 000 to 200 000 genes. Although most genetic disorders are individually rare, sev- eral thousand such disorders are known. Over 3 000 different human dis- eases are known or suspected to result from defects in single genes. Many such diseases are well-known and rather prevalent, for example sickle cell anaemia, cystic fibrosis, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, thalassemia and phenylketonuria.2 417

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