Do-it-yourself DNA testing: A risk or a right?

There are plenty of medical tests that consumers can give themselves at home — tests to finds out if they are pregnant, if they have a urinary tract infection, and if their blood sugar levels are too high or too low, to name just a few.

Do-it-yourself genetics tests are joining this list. After mailing a saliva sample to a lab, consumers can receive information about their genetic risk for a variety of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease and several types of cancer. They can also get predictions about how well they would respond to more than a dozen types of drugs. The results can be difficult to interpret, and they may not be reliable. No medical experts need be involved.

That has stirred controversy among doctors, geneticists, bioethicists and consumer advocates. Some believe that in bypassing health professionals, the tests are irresponsible at best and potentially dangerous at worst. Others feel that individuals who want their personal health-risk information should be able to get it, plain and simple. The Food and Drug Administration is weighing both sides...