Newsweek Examines New Testing For Down Syndrome, Effect On Abortion

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Article Date: 10 Dec 2008 - 4:00 PDT


Newsweek in its Dec. 15 issue examines the possible effect of new, noninvasive tests for Down syndrome on the number of abortions that result from positive tests for the disease. About 90% of women currently choose abortion following a positive test for the condition, and about 5,000 fetuses that test positive for Down syndrome are delivered annually. Current tests for the disease include blood screens and ultrasounds, which are then confirmed with tests such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling -- tests some women forgo because of the slightly increased risk of miscarriage -- according to Newsweek. However, new, noninvasive tests may soon become available that "pose no harm to fetuses or mothers," Newsweek reports. Some antiabortion-rights and disability advocates "worry" that if the new, noninvasive tests -- which might be made available next year -- become common, they could result in more Down syndrome diagnoses and abortions, as well as a decrease in the population of people with Down syndrome and a drop in support for women who carry such pregnancies to term, Newsweek reports.

Meanwhile, as "technology has advanced, doctors' education about Down syndrome has lagged behind," according to Newsweek. Brian Skoto -- a pediatrics resident at Boston's Children's Hospital who has studied how doctors tell patients about sensitive diagnoses -- said, "Even among obstetrics fellows, 45% said their training in how to deliver a [Down syndrome] diagnoses was barely adequate or nonexistent." According to Newsweek, a study published in 2000 in Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights found that 23% of doctors said they tried to influence women's decisions following a Down syndrome diagnosis, usually recommending abortion. In addition, a federal law that requires physicians to provide adoption and medical information to women who receive prenatal diagnoses of Down syndrome or other genetic conditions stalled until noninvasive tests "put it on the front burner and turned up the degrees," Newsweek reports. Skoto adds that antiabortion rights advocates "believed that women making informed decisions might be more apt to continue their pregnancies. And people who were pro-choice saw the bill as pro-information but not telling doctors what to do." Some disability advocates hope that funding from the law will go into effect about the same time as the new genetic tests are available, according to Newsweek. The piece also profiled a family who has a child with Down syndrome (Carmichael, Newsweek, 12/8).

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