Paternity testing in Italy via Internet: Who protects the minors?

Paternity analyses carried out by laboratories via Internet often involve sending the requesting parties a kit for collecting samples followed by sending back the samples to the laboratory. Information are given via the laboratory’s web site or by the mailing of written notification. The repercussions of the result have a great emotional impact that could, when unexpected, cause turmoil among the people involved, the greatest repercussions will inevitably be felt by the children. Recently easy-to-use kits have also been introduced in Italy. The Italian Privacy’s Garante is assessing the ethical and legal implications but regulations are not yet in place. In this work, we want to consider some legal and ethical issues: we will analyse problems relating to information, consent and certifying the origin of samples by way of outlining the relevant Italian deontological laws and codes, and the Oviedo Convention’s. Finally, we will analyse issues regarding the position of the personnel who carry out the analysis. In our opinion, the complexity of the situations and expectations linked to paternity investigations require a special sensitivity in dealing with each case, each with its own specific legal and ethical-deontological issues, while taking into account the emotional stability of the subjects involved.