Keywords

Ashkenazi Jews, genetic testing, nursing, rights-based ethics, Tay-Sachs, virtue ethics

 

Authors

  1. Clayton, Tricia

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Several genetic disorders are specific to Jewish heritage; one of the most devastating is Tay-Sachs disease.Tay-Sachs is a fatal hereditary disease, causing progressive neurological problems for which there is no cure. Ethical issues surrounding genetic testing for Tay-Sachs within the Jewish community continue to be complex and multifaceted. A perspective of Tay-Sachs, using rights-based ethics and virtue ethics as a theoretical framework, is explored.