A young woman was raped and stabbed to death. Her body
was found in the large office where John works. According
to the security guards, no outsiders were in the building
at the time of murder. So suspecting that the murderer is
one of the employees, police decide to do mass DNA screening.
The police ask all the male employees to submit their saliva
sample, which will be compared to the DNA sample found at
the crime scene, and help to find out the killer.
John was a good friend of the woman who died. For the sake
of her friend John feels that he should give a saliva sample,
which is a simple thing to do. Moreover, he really wants the
murderer to be caught, and he knows that DNA screening can
help. But he is still hesitant to give his saliva sample.
If you were John, what would you do?
Contentions
If John participates in the screening, his DNA profile will
be included in the police’s data bank, and may become
part of a permanent file. Every time the police search their
computer to find a DNA profile match, John’s information
will be included.
Is this an invasion of privacy since the police will always
be “scanning” his information when trying to solve
a new crime? John could be releasing all sorts of information
about himself. Moreover, his DNA sample could be used to learn
many other things about him.
What if this information is not kept secret from others outside
the jurisdiction of the police?
Has John lost control of his personal information?
As a result of testing, John may learn some things by accident
that he never expected to find out. What if he comes to know
that he is the carrier of a gene mutation that could lead
to a disease? What if this information found its way into
his medical record? There may be future instances where he
will be required to release his medical record. |
