Council of Europe

The Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) carried out a public consultation on the document on Predictivity, Genetic Testing and Insurance.

This consultation closed on 27 April 2012 and the replies are now public.

The purpose of this consultation was to elicit comments and replies namely from bodies representative of the different fields concerned (in particular, patients, consumers, insurers and reinsurers, doctors, geneticists, ombudspersons), at national and international levels, on proposals and questions regarding the use of predictive health-related data, in particular genetic data, in the field of insurance.

This work is part of a larger activity undertaken by the Council of Europe. This activity is aimed at developing a legal framework for the protection of human rights with regard to the use of genetic testing in the medical as well as non-medical field, the first step of which was achieved with the adoption of the Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, regarding Genetic Testing for Health Purposes (CETS No 203).

The replies and the comments received are being examined by the DH-BIO with a view to preparing a possible legal instrument.