Which ethical issue in genetic testing ethics involves duties to warn family members?

• A. Consent requirements for non-family members
• B. Duties to warn family members when an inherited disorder is discovered
• C. Government access to genetic data
• D. Mandatory testing for relatives

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is the duty to warn family members when a genetic finding means relatives may be at risk. Genetic information often has implications for individuals beyond the patient, since relatives share parts of the genome. Ethically, clinicians must balance respecting patient confidentiality with the potential benefit to at-risk relatives who could take preventive steps or seek early treatment. The best answer captures this explicit obligation to consider disclosure to relatives when it can prevent harm and when the patient won’t or can’t share the information themselves, all while weighing the seriousness of the risk and any legal or professional guidelines. Encouraging the patient to inform relatives is preferred, and any disclosure should be handled with care to protect privacy and minimize unnecessary sharing.

The other options address different issues: consent for non-family members focuses on consent processes for people not at risk, government access to genetic data concerns privacy and data governance, and mandatory testing for relatives raises questions about coercion rather than the ethical duty to warn at-risk family members.