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Genetic testing in Hungary is mainly regulated by the legal framework that applies to health services as a whole. Consequently, the regulations on patient rights are mutatis mutandis applicable as rights of users of genetic services.
In January 2005 there was a proposal to the Government on the draft bill on the protection of human genetic data and the rules for genetic tests and research. This bill has not been approved until the date of writing.
Although there is no explicit prohibition of discrimination on grounds of genetic heritage, the general principle of non-discrimination is guaranteed by several provisions. Section 70 A of the Hungarian Constitutions states that “the Republic of Hungary shall respect the human rights and civil rights of all persons in the country without discrimination on the basis of race, color, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origins, financial situation, birth or on any other grounds whatsoever”. A similar provision can be found in the Health Care Act of 1997. According to section 7 (4) healthcare shall be considered free from discrimination if, in the course of delivering health care services, patients are not discriminated against on grounds of their social status, political views, origin, nationality, religion, gender, sexual preferences, age, marital status, physical or mental disability, qualification or on any other grounds not related to their state of health.
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