Abstract
As nations strengthen borders and restrict refugee admissions, national security officials are screening for fraudulent nationality claims. One tool to investigate nationality claims is DNA testing, either for claimed relationships or for ancestral origins. At the same time, the plight of global statelessness leaves millions without documentation of their nationality, and DNA testing might be the only recourse to provide evidence of heritage or relationships. DNA testing has been used sparsely to date to determine ancestral origin as a proxy for nationality but could increase as border controls tighten. Given the historic lessons in eugenics and the potential for misuse of personal genetic information, it is essential to consider the ethical parameters in order to guide the implementation of genetic data for such purposes. Here, we break down examples of the use of DNA testing for nationality, and the risks and benefits of genetic testing for this purpose. Important ethical considerations discussed include (1) empowerment of stateless individuals with evidence for citizenship proceedings; (2) imprecise correlation between genetic heritage and nationality; (3) effective protection of state interests; and (4) practicalities of DNA testing.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 51-66 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Journal | Global Bioethics |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2021 |
Funding
This work was supported by the National Human Genome Research Institute under grant R01HG009923. The authors thank the Duke faculty for advising this project, including Suzanne Shanahan and Charmaine Royal. A special thank you to Karin Müchler for her work representing stateless persons in their citizenship aspirations and for bringing an example case to our attention. The authors wish to thank Carlos Bustamante and Aashish Jha for their work in analyzing genetic information (not presented here), and Armani Porter for research on tribal membership examples. A thank you to the anonymous individuals that agreed to use their 23andMe data as examples for Figure 1. We would also like to acknowledge the millions of migrants globally who seek identity and rights within their communities though they lack nationality. Every voice should count. Their endeavors can shine a light on statelessness, prompting conversations regarding the responsible use of genetic information. We would like to thank the 23andMe participants and employees of 23andMe for making this work possible. Participants provided informed consent to use their results.
Keywords
- DNA testing
- Statelessness
- ancestry
- border policy
- immigration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science)
- Philosophy
- Health Policy