CGS-authored
This is the second story in a two-part series on fetal DNA testing and the ethical issues raised by it. Please click here for part one.
Imagine being pregnant and taking a simple blood test that lays bare the DNA of your fetus. And suppose that DNA could reveal not only medical conditions like Down syndrome, but also things like eye color and height. And the risk for developing depression or Alzheimer's disease. And the chances of being gay.
So far that's still science fiction. But scientists have been taking some baby steps in that direction. And some ethics experts say it's time to start talking now about what that could mean for parents and society.
Scanning fetal DNA from a blood test will be "without question a major medical advance that promises to greatly improve current prenatal care," says Jaime King, an associate professor at the UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco who studies genetic testing. But bringing it into practice "raises significant practical, legal, ethical and social challenges," she says.
"This really changes the experience of...
Imagine being pregnant and taking a simple blood test that lays bare the DNA of your fetus. And suppose that DNA could reveal not only medical conditions like Down syndrome, but also things like eye color and height. And the risk for developing depression or Alzheimer's disease. And the chances of being gay.
So far that's still science fiction. But scientists have been taking some baby steps in that direction. And some ethics experts say it's time to start talking now about what that could mean for parents and society.
Scanning fetal DNA from a blood test will be "without question a major medical advance that promises to greatly improve current prenatal care," says Jaime King, an associate professor at the UC Hastings College of Law in San Francisco who studies genetic testing. But bringing it into practice "raises significant practical, legal, ethical and social challenges," she says.
"This really changes the experience of...