Mark Leach is an attorney with a Master's in Bioethics, focusing on health law and public contracts. His interest in bioethics concerns the issues surrounding prenatal testing and Down syndrome.

Created demand for prenatal genetic testing

Why is there a demand for prenatal genetic testing? In large part, due to the ethically problematic laboratory marketing efforts aimed at creating that demand. Continue Reading

Stop taxpayer subsidizing NIPT, unless and until …

Public health dollars should not be spent on noninvasive prenatal testing(NIPT) unless and until the following happens. Continue Reading

All met some, none met all: Labs adherence to reporting guidelines for prenatal testing

A study of cell free DNA testing laboratories adherence to medical guidelines made the following finding: all met some of the guidelines, none met all of the guidelines. Continue Reading

Sec. DeVos: Fund Special Olympics (& many other programs) with Cuts to Medicaid for Prenatal Genetic Testing

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos Secretary Betsy DeVos has drawn stinging criticism for her latest budget proposal for eliminating funding for Special Olympics programs at schools. There is a much larger budget item that would fund those and many other programs that benefit individuals with intellectual disabilities: Medicaid funding for prenatal genetic testing for Down syndrome. Continue Reading

World Down Syndrome Day: Preserving a Positive in this World

Today, March 21st, is World Down Syndrome Day. A day chosen for its numeric representation of the cause for Down syndrome: 3/21 representing the triplicate of the 21st Chromosome. It is a day to raise awareness about those living with the condition. More should be aware of the positive force that those with Down syndrome are in this world. Continue Reading

No lie can live forever

James & Juliet crossing the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, January 20, 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. declared that "no lie can live forever." I pray this is true for what some believe about Down syndrome. Continue Reading

People with Down syndrome are lifelong learners (just like everyone else)

New research finds that people with Down syndrome continue to learn throughout their lives and can add functional skills in adult years. Just like the rest of us, they are lifelong learners.  Continue Reading

Our Story: the value of encouragement

Over Labor Day weekend, the kids and I visited the Great Smoky Mountains. Here's some thoughts that came to me while we were on our most demanding hike, yet.  Continue Reading

Down syndrome, Norm MacDonald, & Contrition

Norm MacDonald is violating the first rule of holes and his own standard for deserving forgiveness. Continue Reading