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Genetic Discrimination| FRANCE
| GENERAL OVERVIEW | BIOMEDICINE CONVENTION | EU MEMBER STATES | TYPES OF PATIENT RIGHTS LEGISLATION |
| Signed, not Ratified |
| Patient Rights in France |
| Rights of Users of Genetic Services |
| Right to Informed Consent |
| In case of minors and incapacitated adults |
| Right to information |
| Of the examined person |
| Genetic Information and the family members |
| Rights regarding the Medical File |
| Genetic Discrimination |
| Prenatal Diagnosis and Neonatal Screening |
| Prenatal diagnosis |
| Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis |
| Neonatal Screening |
| The fundamental non-discrimination principle established in article 11 of the Convention is that any form of discrimination against an individual on grounds of his or her genetic heritage is prohibited. Since 2002 the French legislation also contains a specific provision prohibiting discrimination on the basis of genetic heritage. In 2002 the project to revise the Acts of 1994 on bioethics started with the adoption by the French Parliament of an article that prohibited any discrimination against a person because of his or her genetic characteristics. Without awaiting the parliamentary debate on the whole project, the Parliament adopted this article during the vote of the Act of 4 March 2002 on the rights of patients and the quality of the health system. This Act introduced the principle of non-discrimination because of genetic characteristics in France out of fear that the developments in genetic testing would encourage a distinction between persons in employment or in the insurance of risks of disability or of death. Article 16-13 of the Code Civil stipulates that nobody may be the subject of discrimination because of his or her genetic characteristics. Besides this explicit prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of genetic heritage, also the Penal Code and the Labor Code stipulate that discrimination among other things on the grounds of genetic characteristics is prohibited. Moreover, regarding the access to insurance covering the risks of disability or of death, the Public Health Code stipulates that the companies and organizations offering insurance can not take into account genetic information provided to them by the beneficiary of the insurance, nor can they request such information (article L 1141-1). Because of the fact that they systematically condemn any distinction between persons based on the grounds of genetic heritage, these various texts guarantee the principle of non-discrimination because of the genetic characteristics of a person. |