Recht auf Wissen vs. Recht auf Nichtwissen in der Gendiagnostik

The rights to know and not to know are key words that emerge in the debate about dealing with the extensive and at the same time insecure knowledge in genetic diagnosis, but they show a certain amount of imprecision. For the first time, the author comprehensively assigns both rights. In addition to a conceptual clarification of the terms knowledge and non-knowledge, an overview of the scientific background and the methods of genetic diagnosis is given. This is followed by an analysis of the constitutional basis as well as of the legal extent and limits of both rights. The evaluation takes into account the statutory regulation of human genetic diagnosis in the German Genetic Diagnosis Act. The importance of the rights to know and not to know with regard to the doctor-patient relationship is paramount. Finally, the author deals with an analysis of the conflicts of both rights taking into account current issues such as the whole genome sequencing and dealing with incidental findings.