Should we be required to reveal our relative risk of developing a wide range of diseases as a condition for obtaining health insurance or for getting a job? What are the effects of requiring such disclosure? Of not requiring it? Until recently, children of patients with Huntington’s disease had to wait until they developed symptoms themselves—usually in midlife—to know whether they had inherited the disease. A genetic test is now available that can detect carriers of the defective gene, those who will eventually develop the disease should they live long enough.

Eventually, perhaps, genetic engineering may provide a means of modifying the defective gene or its effects. Because researchers have not yet developed ways to cure or control Huntington’s disease, some potential carriers prefer not to know whether they have inherited the gene. A famous example is folksinger Arlo Guthrie, son of the famed folksinger Woody Guthrie, who had died from the disease. Arlo preferred not to know and never underwent testing. Fortunately, he escaped his father’s fate.

If you were in Arlo’s position, would you want to know if you have inherited Huntington’s?” Or would you prefer keeping yourself in the dark and living your life as best you could?