Direito e genoma humano : proteção da biodiversidade face às pesquisas genéticas no direito brasileiro

Abstract

The issue of protecting biodiversity and in particular the human genome has sparked great interest and concern in the current law, adding to the concerns of professionals in various fields such as bioethics, genetics, health, and several other segments. Article 225 of the Constitution of 1988 provides for the protection of biodiversity and the integrity of the genetic heritage in the country. The hypotheses developed in this study say that the preservation of genetic heritage is one of the means chosen by the Federal Constitution to guarantee the enjoyment to a balanced environment, that preserving the diversity of human genetic resources becomes imperative as a means to safeguard the interests diffuse, collective and individual in order to prevent environmental degradation and promote the guarantee of other rights. Confirming these assumptions beyond the legal view highlights the evolution of the concept of bioethics, which passed the medical field for a global bioethics, with the consequences of risk society for future generations by examining the ethical limits of interventions in the environment and Human Genome. The risks of the intervention on the human genome are analyzed in order to consider its impact on vulnerable populations against the precautionary principle and the right to privacy, when the use of information contained in the human genetic code. We analyze also the responsibility of the researcher,with the polluter-pays principle as a tool for fulfillment of this responsibility in view of characterizing the genetic heritage protection as a fundamental human right.