Biogenetic Citizenship: Legal and Ethical Aspects in the Context of Biolegality

This article identifies the nature of biogenetic citizenship as a complex, collective concept that reflects the biological and genetic characteristics of individuals that influence their legal status, rights, and responsibilities. It also distinguishes between scientific approaches and research perspectives on the categories of “biological citizenship” and “genetic citizenship”. Citizenship as a legal and sociopolitical phenomenon extends to the fields of bioethics, biology, genetics, and ecology under the influence of the Anthropocene. The concept of biogenetic citizenship highlights the controversial nature of the contemporary nature of biosociality and biolegality, which are emerging as new social and legal forms of developing rights and responsibilities in modern states. The use of biotechnological innovations and biomedical knowledge is now becoming an important milestone in identifying human legal status and citizenship. As a public law concept, biogenetic citizenship postulates the importance of biological and genetic information for upholding new and traditional (classical) human rights and freedoms within sovereign states and internationally. The author proposes the concept of “biogenetic citizenship” for the prospective assessment and development of normative, institutional, and procedural requirements for models of legal regulation and public administration in the field of biopolitics and legal genomics and genetics in order to prevent and overcome potential risks of stigmatization, exclusion, and discrimination against individuals or certain groups.