The development of genetics and modern genetic technologies is accompanied by the emergence of specific ethical problems on three levels:
1.At the individual and family level.
Here, the possible conflict between the principle of respect for individual autonomy, privacy, the rule of confidentiality, on the one hand, and the principle of "do good", on the other, is brought to the fore. The specificity of the ethical problems of medical genetics is rooted in the fact that they are not only individual, but family (or generic) nature, as hereditary diseases of reproductive processes are inherited. And then it turns out that to identify the disease of this particular patient, it is necessary to make the object of the study also a whole group of people – his relatives.
2.At the societal level.
First, the genetic discrimination referred to above can take on the scale of social phenomena, becoming racist stereotypes that justify different attitudes towards different social groups. Secondly, at the societal level, there is a need for broad dissemination of genetic knowledge and for improved biological education of the population. Genetic ignorance, combined with the power of market mechanisms, can lead to negative consequences for society as a whole. It is necessary to develop mechanisms of moral and legal regulation of medical and genetic services, as the principle of "do good", which are guided by the latter, may in certain circumstances come into conflict with the principle of "do no harm". Thus, if a technology brings benefit to an individual, it must at first glance bring benefit to the whole society.
3.At the level of General philosophical understanding of human nature.
Advances in modern genetic biology lead to an exaggeration of the degree of influence of genetic factors on the formation of human behavior. Man is beginning to be seen only as "puppet" their genes, only as a certain set of genes. This belief is called genetic reductionism. This is an extremely simplistic view. Giving preference to heredity, we thereby neglect all that, in fact, is our personality. After all, being human means much more than just having a certain genetic material. Our personal qualities are determined not only by hereditary factors, but also by the environment, communication and our own volitional efforts. The formation of personality is not without reason called "second birth" (the first – biological birth), it is self-creation," self-building", when from the material given by nature, heredity, a person creates himself.