In search of our origins: regulating open-access genetic testing

In France, the use of genetic testing for personal or private purposes is strictly prohibited outside the context of legal proceedings or a medical prescription. The law provides for a criminal penalty of up to a €3,750 fine for those who request such tests.

However, this general ban is now coming into direct conflict with the reality of how such tests are actually used. The fundamental need to know one’s origins, particularly acute among people born to anonymous donors, those who were adopted, or those conceived through assisted reproductive technology (ART) with a third-party donor, is driving many citizens to circumvent the law.