Author ORCID Identifier

0000-0002-8826-438X

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2024

Abstract

This article examines the controversial and growing practice of law enforcement agencies searching clinical and public health genetic databases—without a warrant or consent. While police have previously used online public genealogy databases for this purpose, our article describes how they are secretly accessing private genetic information from newborn screening programs and medical tests. We argue this raises serious ethical and legal concerns, blurring the line between healthcare and law enforcement and infecting clinical encounters with the goals of prosecution. This in turn may discourage people from seeking important medical care due to distrust and privacy concerns.

To explore public attitudes on this issue, the authors conducted a novel study examining how lay people view the forensic use of clinical genetic data for different types of crimes. Our findings suggest people take a utilitarian perspective, where they are more likely to support warrantless searches for serious and ongoing crimes, but more likely to oppose these searches for more minor offenses like theft. However, we argue that regardless of whether the public supports warrantless searching, the little-known practice undermines trust in healthcare institutions and violates patient privacy. We recommend two legal reforms to restrict law enforcement access to clinical genetic databases and to require explicit consent to forensic uses, aiming to protect both public health and civil liberties as these investigative techniques become more common.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1093/jlb/lsae028

Download

Share

COinS