Ethical issues in perinatal genetics.
Ethics is an essential dimension of perinatal genetics. This article introduces perinatologists to the ethical principles of beneficence and respect for autonomy and uses these ethical principles to articulate the ethical concept of the fetus as a patient. Together these constitute an ethical framework that we apply to risk assessment, in response to which women may be divided into four groups: prenatal genetic counseling, and the responsible management of pregnancies complicated by genetic anomalies of the fetus.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, New York, USA. fac2001@med.cornell.edu
Frank A
FA
Chervenak
Laurence B
LB
McCullough
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000941:ethics; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D028701:Patient Rights / Q000941:ethics*; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics* / Q000379:methods* / Q000523:psychology