The Protection of Human Genetic Information and the First Amendment

Debra Greedfield’s research is a study of legal trends involving the rights of individuals to their own genetic information suggesting that specific Constitutional guarantees should be invoked where common and statutory law, particularly intellectual property rights are prohibiting citizens to have access to and self ownership of their personal genetic information.

In this project Greenfield argues that the First Amendment and guarantees of freedom of speech and expression should be invoked in cases and controversies regarding one’s rights to both their private genetic information as well as the totality of information of the Human Genome.

Related Publications
See, e.g., “Intangible or Embodied Information: The Non-Statutory Nature of Human Genetic Material” (Santa Clara Computer and High Technology Law Journal, Volume 25 #3, March 2009)


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