Patenting biotechnology: ethical and philosophical issues

Every week seems to bring a new biotechnology and hopeful predictions of new treatments for disease. The greatest hope is in genetic engineering, using techniques of genetic manipulation to eliminate genetic diseases and create improved crops and farm animals. But some see clouds on this rosy horizon and warn us of dangers that will accompany them. Allowing for-profit companies to patent particular genetic manipulations raises many ethical, legal, and policy questions and has generated much critical comment in the United States and Europe. The main areas of concern are: a) negative environmental consequences, b) harm to humans who consume transgenic foods, c) abuse of animals, and d) misuse of human genetic engineering. In a general discussion on issues associated with patenting genetic technology, the author selects some of the major concerns, explores the deeper philosophical assumptions that underlie them, and discusses their implications for patenting genetic technology