Recent developments in biology have made it possible to acquire more and more precise information concerning our genetic makeup. Although we have only begun to see the most far-reaching effects of these developments and the completion of the Human Genome Project, scientists can even today identify a number of genetic disorders that may cause illness and disease in their carriers. The improved knowledge regarding the human genome will, it is predicted, soon make diagnoses more accurate, treatments more effective, and thereby considerably reduce and prevent unnecessary suffering. The knowledge can also be, however, depending on the case, futile, distressing, or plainly harmful. We propose to answer in this article the dual question: who should know about our genetic makeup and why? Through an analysis of prudential, moral, and legal grounds for acquiring the information, we conclude that, at least on the levels of law and social policy, practically nobody is either duty-bound to receive or entitled to have that knowledge.
