Panelists explored the legal and ethical frameworks of genetic privacy in the second of a series of discussions on the Human Genome Project last night at Harvard Law School (HLS).

The series--sponsored by the Harvard Health Caucus--seeks to explore the social implications of the Human Genome Project.

"Without protection [of genetic privacy], the whole process of care disintegrates," said Charles A. Welch, a panelist who is vice president of the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Many of the panelists advocated greater legal protection for individual genetic information.

A.G. Breitenstein, a nationally recognized expert on data privacy and security, said that people do not currently have sufficient legal control over their own genetic data.

"Patients have been shut out of making any property claims," she said.

Mark A. Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, said that employers should be limited in the amount information they have access to.

"Don't allow employers to weasel their way into collecting data during the hiring process," he said. "There should be a focus on access, not just use [of the data]."