PROMINENT PSYCHIATRIST SPEAKS ON “THE ETHICS OF GENETIC TESTING” AT LIVINGSTON LIBRARY

Is genetic testing a blessing or a curse?





In the fifty years since DNA was discovered, genetic testing has given hope to sufferers of Huntington's, cystic fibrosis, breast cancer, and Alzheimer's. It has also created excruciating choices for countless people wrestling with their fears of being tested and decisions about dealing with test results. Robert Klitzman, MD, will be addressing these timely moral issues in a free public presentation, “Am I My Genes” at the Livingston Public Library on Sunday, October 6, at 3:00 pm.   

Dr. Klitzman, a well-known New York psychiatrist and the director of Columbia University’s Masters of Bioethics Program, contributes regularly to the New York Times and other publications. His many award-winning books include A Year-Long Night: Tales of a Medical Internship; In a House of Dreams and Glass: Becoming A Psychiatrist; Being Positive: The Lives of Men and Women with HIV; Mortal Secrets: Truth and Lies in the Age of AIDS, and, most recently Am I My Genes? Confronting Fate and Family Secrets in the Age of Genetic Testing (Oxford University Press, 2012).  

As New York Times writer Andrew Solomon puts it, "Blending compassion and good science, Robert Klitzman proposes new guidelines for the morally complex questions of how we understand our genetics, and what we choose to do with the destiny they imply. His sensitive, humanist approach converts information into knowledge." Join us for an unforgettable evening with a highly distinguished doctor, writer and cutting-edge thinker as he addresses some of the most important scientific and ethical dilemmas of our time.  This program is intended for adults and it is free. No reservations required.