Case Analysis: Fetal Testing for Down Syndrome
Prenatal screening for defects in the fetus plays an important, yet controversial, role in society. Fetal testing addresses the moral question of what kind of life is worth living. It also touches on what kinds of defects are too costly to society. Prenatal screening forces the parent and society, in general, to decide what quality-of-life standards are important. Parents are forced to decide if they would have a child with a disability and if the type of disability would influence their decision. The medical field and government presume that the large majority of parents would choose to abort upon discovering that they would have a child that was disabled in some way. Prenatal screening is morally wrong and will only contribute to the artificiality of modern society through genetic selection. One of the most common prenatal screening tests is given for Down Syndrome. Down syndrome, or trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by an error in cell division that creates three copies of chromosome 21. Down syndrome is an extremely common cause of mental retardation, varying dramatically in severity among individuals. A newborn baby with Down syndrome is easily diagnosed, recognized by a flat facial profile, an upward sla
Some people would argue that prenatal testing is wrong, but that certain circumstances warrant justification for aborting the fetus. Genetic screening has a destructive effect on the parent-child relationship. Down syndrome can cause many medical problems like congenital hypothyroidism, hearing loss, congenital heart disease, visual problems, and seizures. This fetal test finds roughly 60% of the Down syndrome pregnancies, but has a 5% false positive rate and a 40% false negative rate. Unless giving birth will pose a risk of danger to the mother or fetus, there are no circumstances in which aborting the fetus is justified in response to prenatal test results. Between the 15th and 18th weeks of pregnancy, the mother takes the "triple screen" test to measure her levels of alphafetoprotein, unconjugated estriol, and human chorionic gonadotropin (Leshin, 2002). There is no licensing or testing for those who operate the ultrasound machines, and evidence shows that fetal testing may affect fetal development (Kristol, 1993). The safety behind the genetic screening test has never been scientifically established, even though doctors routinely use the tests and many do the tests without consulting women first. What kind of life is worth living? Prenatal testing should not be the determinate of this, as every individual is special and deserves a chance at life. Then, maybe people would value their children as unique individuals and not as children without disabilities that have the desired traits that the parents want. The main question concerning the actual fetal tests is whether the benefits of their use is greater then the unknown long-term effects on the fetus and mother. Whether a child has Down syndrome or another disorder, the issue is the same. Fetal testing is a form of genetic selection. Any child can have disabilities that hinder him from being at the same level as his peers; for instance, a growing amount of kids are taking Ritalin for attention deficit disorders.
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