. 2011 Dec 6;3(3):131–145. doi: 10.1007/s12376-011-0070-8

Table 3.

Summary of the major 7 relata for individual, family, professional, and social responsibility in the case of genetic testing

Subject (in different roles)	Object (seen as morally relevant)	Instance (norm-proofing)	Moral-relevant standard	Temporal direction	Consequences	Time frame
Self	Self	Conscience	Autonomy	Retrospective_negative	Accept possible harm	In late onset disease: life long, decades
			Autonomy	Prospective_positive	Free choice	In late onset disease: life long, decades
			Self-care	Retrospective_negative	Guilt/blame	In late onset disease: life long, decades
			Self-care	Prospective_positive	Prevention	In late onset disease: life long, decades
	Family	Conscience	Right to know/duty to inform	Retrospective_negative	Blame/guilt if not informed	Closely after the knowledge is gained, but theoretical for many years
			Right to know/duty to inform	Prospective_positive	Preventive (e.g., family planning), good “risk” management
			Right not to know/duty not to tell	Retrospective_negative	Family distress if told	Closely after the knowledge is gained, but theoretical for many years
			Right not to know/duty not to tell	Prospective_positive	Protection of families from social-psychological burdens
Professional	Patient	Soft law/law	Non-directive counseling	Retrospective_negative	Legal liability for counselor	During the treatment
Professional	Patient	Soft law/law	Non-directive counseling	Prospective_positive	Professional exclusiveness (power)	During the treatment
Public healthcare system	Citizens	?	Justice and equality	Prospective_negative	Waste of health care resources/inefficient allocation	Theoretically decades, but changing political systems
Public healthcare system	Citizens	?	Justice and equality	?	?	Theoretically decades, but changing political systems