Huntington's disease: prenatal screening for late onset disease.
This article presents a set of moral arguments regarding the selective abortion of fetuses on the basis of prenatal screening for late onset genetic diseases only, and for Huntington's Disease* in particular. After discussion of human suffering, human perfection and the distinctive features of the lives of people confronting late onset genetic disease, the author concludes that selective abortion is difficult to justify ethically, although it must remain a matter of personal choice.
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Centre for Biomedical Ethics, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.
D000032:Abortion, Therapeutic / Q000592:standards*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000592:standards*; D006262:Health; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D006816:Huntington Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D007389:Internal-External Control; D011788:Quality of Life; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological