Permissibility of prenatal diagnosis and abortion for fetuses with severe genetic disorder: type 1 spinal muscular atrophy.
Abortion has been largely avoided in Muslim communities. However, Islamic jurists have established rigorous parameters enabling abortion of fetuses with severe congenital abnormalities. This decision-making process has been hindered by an inability to predict the severity of such prenatally-diagnosed conditions, especially in genetic disorders with clinical heterogeneity, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Heterogeneous phenotypes of SMA range from extremely severe type 1 to very mild type 4. Advances in molecular genetics have made it possible to perform prenatal diagnosis and to predict the types of SMA with its potential subsequent severity. Such techniques will make it possible for clinicians working in predominantly Muslim countries to counsel their patients accurately and in harmony with their religious beliefs. In this paper, we discuss and postulate that with our current knowledge of determining SMA types and severity with great accuracy, abortion is legally applicable for type 1 SMA.
Department of Pediatrics, School of Medical Sciences, University Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia.
Teguh H
TH
Sasongko
Abd Razak
AR
Salmi
Bin Alwi
BA
Zilfalil
Mohammed Ali
MA
Albar
Zabidi Azhar
ZA
Mohd Hussin
D000029:Abortion, Legal / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D005315:Fetal Diseases; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014897:Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics