title: Ethical dimensions of first-trimester fetal aneuploidy screening.
abstract: Noninvasive first-trimester fetal aneuploidy screening provides pregnant women with risk assessment information early in pregnancy. Noninvasive first-trimester aneuploidy screening includes imaging of the fetus and maternal serum analyte and assessment of fetal genetic material in the maternal circulation. The ethical challenges of noninvasive first-trimester fetal aneuploidy screening concern the physician's role in the informed consent process for risk assessment, the goal of which is to empower pregnant women to make informed decisions about noninvasive aneuploidy screening. This article provides physicians with an ethical framework for the professionally responsible management of these ethical challenges and for those related to emerging technologies.
authors.affiliation: *Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York †Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Chervenak
authors.forename: Laurence B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: McCullough
mesh_terms: D000782:Aneuploidy; D025063:Chromosome Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis / Q000941:ethics*; D018570:Risk Assessment