Thanks for this post. I actually think this area - privacy and competing wishes within families - is going to be the trickest and most painful of the “genome revolution”. For example, I worry about finding some kind of mutation, and struggling with the right time to warn/inform my kids that they might be at risk, too. Or, my sister finds out something so compelling that she feels obligated to tell me, despite my firm ignortarian stance.

I am on the other side of the fence on this one. I’m not sure I’d agree to getting my genome sequenced, or then having it publically disclosed until my kids are old enough to consent. Yes yes, I know, I put them at risk for all sorts of bad things everyday, when I drive in the car with them (especially in Boston) or send them off to preschool. I suppose that is the name of game for parents: deciding just what kinds of risks you are willing to expose them too - at least in these early years when parents have a lot of control over these things. I know the clock is ticking on that one.

I hope that we can find a way to engage parents, or prospective parents in this conversation. Not just around this issue of privacy and family dynamics, but also in regard to how genome sequencing is likely to intersect with reproductive technology. A potential, er, “shitstorm” to use Misha’s elegant prose, indeed.