Eugenics or empowered choice? Community issues arising from prenatal testing.
The prevention of inherited disabilities is viewed in two contrasting ways--either as enhancing reproductive choice and improving population health, or as discriminating against disabled community members. We argue that modern clinical genetics, including preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), reflects a persistent and defensible desire by the community to prevent disability, rather than as increasing discrimination or threatening to produce a 'new eugenic' society Screening should be presented as a distinct issue for decision-making about the prevention or acceptance of disability, rather than as a routinely accepted component of antenatal care. The community must improve its understanding of the experiences of those who manage disability, and continue to debate the issues of discrimination, selective genetic prevention and enhancement, reproductive freedom, and eugenics.
Parker
Malcolm H
MH
School of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Forbes
Kevin L
KL
Findlay
Ian
I
D001315:Australia; D003153:Community Health Services; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005817:Genetic Counseling; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007232:Infant, Newborn, Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment