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Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery featured on BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze

21 November 2019

Professor Montgomery was featured on an episode called ‘The Morality of Genetics’, centred on issues of confidentiality and genetics.

Jonathan Montgomery

Professor Sir Jonathan Montgomery, Professor of Healthcare Law at UCL Laws, was a witness on an episode of BBC Radio 4’s Moral Maze which was broadcast on 20th November 2019.

In each episode of Moral Maze, a panel of witnesses and speakers take part in a debate which examines the moral issues behind one of the week’s news stories.

On yesterday’s episode, called ‘The Morality of Genetics’, Sir Jonathan discussed the case of a woman who is suing an NHS trust for not disclosing her father’s Huntington’s disease diagnosis, which doctors had already diagnosed when she gave birth to her own child. After the birth, the woman discovered that she also carried the faulty gene for the disease, and had a 50% chance of passing it on.

Sir Jonathan answered questions on why medical confidentiality is important; and the conflict between the duty to do no harm and the right to confidentiality. He also explained the General Medical Council’s guidelines on medical confidentiality, which was overseen by a committee Sir Jonathan chaired.

You can listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds.