In 1994, the Committee on Assessing Genetic Risks of the Institute of
Medicine published their recommendations regarding the ethical issues
raised by advances in genetics. One of the Committee's recommendation
was to inform women when test results revealed misattributed paternity
, but not to disclose this information to the women's partners. The Co
mmittee's reason for withholding such information was that ''genetic t
esting should not be used in ways that disrupt families'', In this pap
er, I argue that the Committee's conclusion in favour of non-disclosur
e to the male partner is unethical. I argue that both parties ought to
be informed.