October is national Down syndrome awareness month. So, what is “Down syndrome”?
Continue reading... October 1, 2013
What is “Down syndrome”?
September 27, 2013
A Down Syndrome Mid-Life Crisis
I turn 40 this weekend. As I look back and look forward, I see a mid-life crisis for Down syndrome.
Continue reading... September 26, 2013
Blog Hop: The Truth About Down Syndrome Awareness Walks
Fellow-blogger Meriah at her blog “With A little Moxie” is holding another “Blog Hop” asking for one truth, one tip, and one photo. I will hopefully not too shamelessly promote my daughter’s Walk team with this entry.
Continue reading... September 25, 2013
Equal justice under law, no matter how many chromosomes
In January, a 26-year old man was killed outside a movie theater while being restrained by off-duty police officers. His crime: not paying for a movie ticket. Why isn’t more known about what caused this homicide?
Continue reading... September 24, 2013
A confluence of conflicts of interests in Down syndrome prenatal testing
Yesterday, I shared Andrew Pollack’s excellent column headlined “Conflict Potential Seen in Genetic Counselors.” The report shared a confluence of conflicts of interests due to another recent development.
Continue reading... September 23, 2013
BREAKING NEWS: You May Be Influenced by Who Pays You
In a previous post, I mentioned that one factor often left out in the discussion of prenatal genetic testing is the cost of the testing itself and how that may influence decisions. Turns out that the advice a patient receives about prenatal testing may be influenced by the cost of giving that advice … and who […]
Continue reading... September 20, 2013
Noninvasive prenatal testing should be a secondary screen
The headline isn’t my conclusion. Tellingly, it’s the result arrived at by a researcher for one of the Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) labs. And, one of the labs that would prefer if the opposite were the case.
Continue reading... September 17, 2013
Why is “being ahead of the curve” a selling point for Verinata’s verifi?
Thursday, Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) laboratory Verinata is hosting a webinar open to the public about its brand of testing, verifi. Verinata’s choice in marketing taglines raises serious ethical concerns.
Continue reading... September 16, 2013
Emily Oster’s Expecting Better: Voldemort’s Shadow
In Expecting Better, Economics Professor Emily Oster bucks the conventional wisdom of standard prenatal care. Her book’s title, and her support for early prenatal genetic testing, however, casts an ominous, unspoken shadow.
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