Molecular Biology and Genetics

Bioethics

Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 8 No. 3, Issue of December 15, 2005
© 2005 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile Received January 3, 2005 / Accepted June 30, 2005
DOI: 10.2225/vol8-issue3-fulltext-9
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Attitudes towards genomic. Research in four Latin American countries

Eduardo Rodríguez Yunta*
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioética
Universidad de Chile
Avda. Diagonal Paraguay 265, Piso 8
Santiago, Chile
Tel: 56 32 678-2539
Fax: 56 32 6782254
E-mail: rodrigue@chi.ops-oms.org 

Carolina Valdebenito Herrera
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioética
Universidad de Chile
Avda. Diagonal Paraguay 265, Piso 8
Santiago, Chile
Tel: 56 32 678-2539
Fax: 56 32 6782254
E-mail: cvaldebenito@chi.ops-oms.org 

Adelio Misseroni
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioética
Universidad de Chile
Avda. Diagonal Paraguay 265, Piso 8
Santiago, Chile
Tel: 56 32 678-2539
Fax: 56 32 6782254
E-mail: amisseroni@colegiomedico.cl

Lautaro Fernández Milla
Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur
Santiago, Chile
E-mail: lautarofermi@ssms.cl 

Delia Outomuro
Facultad de Medicina
Universidad de Buenos Aires
Argentina
E-mail: doutomuro@fmed.uba.ar

Irene Schiattino Lemus
Escuela de Salud Publica
Universidad de Chile
Santiago, Chile
E-mail: ischiattino@med.uchile.cl 

Marcela Ferrer Lues
Departamento de Sociología
Universidad de Chile
Diagonal Parraguay 265
Santiago, Chile
E-mail: maferrer@uchile.cl 

Fernando Lolas Stepke
Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios en Bioética
Universidad de Chile
Avda. Diagonal Paraguay 265, Piso 8
Santiago, Chile
E-mail: flolas@uchile.cl 

http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/

*Corresponding author

Financial support: Research funded by grants from U.S. Department of Energy award DE-FG02-02R 63435 and also through fellowships to students of the International Program of Ethics of Biomedical and Psychosocial Research, supported by Fogarty NIH Research Grant #D43 TW 06056.

Keywords: cloning, genome, social representations, transgenic.

Abstract
Full Text

The present reflection refers to data obtained about the social representations of genomic research and its applications through interviews with legislators and lawyers, biomedical researchers and civilians and the review of scientific and legal literature in four Latin American countries: Argentine, Chile, Mexico and Peru.

Several issues are addressed: little access to prevention and therapeutic methods, lack of equity in health benefits, commercialization of gene sequences through patents which leads to commercial exploitation of underdeveloped countries, the possibility of physical or psychological damage or genetic discrimination, the possibility of genetic modifications or abortion for eugenic reasons, the necessity of safeguarding confidentiality, risks and benefits of the use of transgenics and cloning, the necessity of legal regulation to prevent the pathway towards genetic enhancement or reproductive human cloning and of regulating access to genetic information.

Using the method of content analysis of verbal behaviour to evaluate the degree of anxiety and hostility of subjects in relation to the Human Genome Project (HGP) developed by Gottschalk and Gleser, an inverse relation between levels of anxiety and level of knowledge was observed which highlights the importance of educating the population. Differences in the level of hostility towards the HGP were also found among the groups.

 
Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network