title: The case for a parental duty to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis for medical benefit.
abstract: This article explores the possibility that there is a parental duty to use preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for the medical benefit of future children. Using one genetic disorder as a paradigmatic example, we find that such a duty can be supported in some situations on both ethical and legal grounds. Our analysis shows that an ethical case in favor of this position can be made when potential parents are aware that a possible future child is at substantial risk of inheriting a serious genetic condition. We further argue that a legal case for a duty to use PGD for medical benefit can be made in situations in which potential parents have chosen to conceive through in vitro fertilization and know that any children conceived are at substantial risk of having a serious genetic condition.
authors.affiliation: Brody School of Medicine, Bioethics and Interdisciplinary Studies, Greenville, NC 27834, USA. malekj@ecu.edu
authors.forename: Janet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Malek
authors.forename: Judith
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Daar
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000941:ethics; D003657:Decision Making / Q000941:ethics*; D026689:Ethical Analysis; D028663:Ethical Theory; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000941:ethics*; D005328:Fetal Viability; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage; D007348:Insurance, Health; D007603:Jurisprudence; D008297:Male; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009154:Mutation; D010287:Parent-Child Relations / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D010290:Parents; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D017044:Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Recessive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics; D011247:Pregnancy; D019836:Preimplantation Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: C451750:PKHD1 protein, human; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface