Clinical implications of the ethics of informed consent for first-trimester risk assessment for trisomy 21.
OBJECTIVE
We identify the clinical implications of the ethics of informed consent for risk assessment for trisomy 21.


RESULTS
Based on the ethics of informed consent, we find that routinely offering first-trimester risk assessment in centers qualified to provide it is ethically obligatory, and routinely withholding the results of first-trimester risk assessment is ethically unjustified.


CONCLUSIONS
The ethics of informed consent is an essential dimension of first-trimester risk assessment for trisomy 21.
Chervenak
Frank A
FA
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021, USA. fac2001@med.cornell.edu
McCullough
Laurence B
LB
Chasen
Stephen T
ST
D004314:Down Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics* / Q000523:psychology; D048208:Nuchal Translucency Measurement / Q000941:ethics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011261:Pregnancy Trimester, First; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics*