For whom the cell tolls: Debates about biomedicine

In this article we situate the recent debates over the genetic, genealogical, and medical databases that are being constructed for the population of Iceland in their domestic context, focusing on the contribution of anthropology to the understanding of central issues at the intersection of biomedicine and society. Modern biotechnology and bioinformatics have opened up an entirely new world in which a multitude of different kinds of human body components as well as genetic and medical information can be isolated and used for commercial, medical, and scientific purposes. While these developments are generally met with criticism and opposition, responses vary from one context to another. The perspective of moral landscapes recently developed in economic anthropology is helpful for understanding the topography of moral debates and determining the options available for informing public decisions on these contested issues.