Reference no: EM133226997

Question - John, a 32 year-old lawyer, had worried for several years about developing Huntington's chorea, a neurological disorder that appears in a person's 30s or 40s, resulting in uncontrollable twitching and contractions and progressive, irreversible dementia. It typically leads to death in about 10 years. John's mother died from this disease. A single abnormal gene produces Huntington's. Huntington's is autosomal dominant and children of an affected person have a 50% chance of inheriting the condition. John had indicated to many people that he would prefer to die rather than endure the progression of the illness. Over the past years, he was anxious, drank heavily, and had intermittent depression, for which he saw a psychiatrist. Nevertheless, he was a productive lawyer. John first noticed facial twitching 3 months ago. At that time, John had a blood test which identified the presence of the Huntington's Disease genetic mutation. 2 neurologists independently confirmed a diagnosis of Huntington's. A referral for genetic counseling with a nurse practitioner was made by the neurologists, but John refused to attend. John recently survived a suicide attempt for which he was hospitalized. Prior to the hospitalization, John's wife was unaware of the Huntington's diagnosis. John and his wife are parents of a 9-year old son and 7- year old daughter. John has two brothers, both in their 40's, with whom he has little contact

1. Explain the social and ethical consequences of John's genetic test results and his behavior after receiving the results. Support your ideas with information from one or more of the Module 2 readings.

2. Who should communicate the results of the genetic testing to John's family? Why?

3. Identify a potential legal implication within the case.