New York Times Magazine Examines Legal, Moral, Ethical Issues Surrounding Prenatal Testing For Genetic Defects

Main Category: Pregnancy / Obstetrics
Also Included In: Abortion
Article Date: 15 Mar 2006 - 3:00 PDT


The New York Times Magazine on Sunday examined the legal, moral and ethical issues surrounding pregnancy termination because of detected genetic defects. Sonograms, genetic tests and a new test called preimplantation genetic diagnosis -- which is a genetic test conducted on embryos for people attempting pregnancy through in vitro fertilization -- allow women to better predict if the infant will have a genetic defect. While the "practice of terminating specific pregnancies ... is seldom discussed," the number of abortions sought as a result of detected genetic defects is expected to rise, the Times reports. At this time, "no regulations ... guide parents and doctors about fair reasons for terminating or going forward with particular births," the Times reports. Currently, courts in about half of the states either recognize "wrongful birth" as a category of medical negligence or allow lawsuits to be brought against physicians if lax prenatal care leads to delivery of an infant that the parents claim would have been aborted had they known of the infant's "impaired health," the Times reports. Some states have barred such lawsuits. In addition, legal decisions -- established in the 1978 court case Becker v. Schwartz -- have given parents the right to seek financial damages as a result of having a child with a disability but have not provided emotional damages. The Times also reports that an "unintended" consequence of lawsuits on the issue is that it might "bias the medical establishment toward termination" (Weil, New York Times, 3/12). Sens. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) in March 2005 introduced a bill (S 609) -- called the Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act -- that would provide $25 million in federal funding to give women whose fetuses are diagnosed with Down syndrome and other conditions up-to-date information (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/3/05). According to the Times, the bill aims to assure that "more positive information be given to parents about the life of a disabled child" (New York Times, 3/12).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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