At 31, filmmaker Joanna Rudnick faces an impossible decision: remove her breasts and ovaries or risk incredible odds of developing cancer. Aware she has a genetic mutation that leaves her essentially “a ticking time bomb,” she balances dreams of having her own children with the unnerving reality that she is risking her life by holding on to her fertility.

Making the journey more difficult for many women like Joanna is the fact that the genetic test is monopolized by one company because of patents they were awarded on the breast cancer genes. Joanna hosted a screening of her Emmy-nominated documentary, In the Family at Cardozo on October 19th. Produced by Kartemquin Films, the film follows Joanna's journey through the unpredictable world of predictive genetic testing. After the screening, there was a  panel discussion on gene patents, their impact on access to genetic testing, and the pending ACLU/PUBPAT lawsuit challenging the patents on the breast cancer genes.

In the Family had its broadcast premiere on the award-winning PBS documentary series P.O.V. in October 2008. This event is a collaboration with P.O.V. (www.pbs.org/pov), and is cosponsored by the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, the Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University, the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

See the report on the panel.







(From left) Adrienne Asch, Center for Ethics at Yeshiva University; Kevin Noonan, MBHB, LL.P; Anne-Marie Kunzler, National Breast Cancer Coalition; Joanna Rudnick, filmmaker; and Prof. Dan Ravicher


(From left) Anne-Marie Kunzler, Joanna Rudnick, and Professor Ravicher