In her recent blog post at the Huffington Post, Dr. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, a doctor who chaired ACOG's ethics committee, says she has found the "Holy Grail" of prenatal testing in Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS). Is she correct? Continue Reading
July 9, 2013
USA Today discriminates against Down syndrome
In a recent editorial, USA Today's editorial board expressed "Our view" that discriminates against Down syndrome and perpetuates the societal stigma against those with the genetic condition. Continue Reading
June 26, 2013
What every woman needs to know about Down syndrome prenatal testing, a review
Earlier this year, Amy Julia Becker released a new book entitled, What Every Woman Needs to Know about Prenatal Testing: insight from a mom who has been there." As with everything Becker writes, it intertwines compassion with needed analysis of a decision all pregnant women will confront in this new age of prenatal testing. Continue Reading
May 30, 2013
Is Down syndrome already starting to disappear?
Since the dawn of prenatal testing and selective abortion, critics and commentators have wondered whether Down syndrome will disappear from society. Experience this year suggests that it may now be happening. Continue Reading
May 22, 2013
Wrongful birth and abortion: what’s the damage of disability?
In a very moving article, Kristina Chew wrote of her son, who has autism, and whether she would have aborted him if given the chance through prenatal testing. In South Africa, a couple was awarded 4.4 million Rand (or about $440,000) precisely because they were not told prenatally their child had Down syndrome--they said they would have aborted had they known prenatally. Both stories are revealing in what they consider the damage of disability. Continue Reading
May 16, 2013
Gosnell, after-birth abortion, and Down syndrome
Kermit Gosnell (AP Photo/Philadelphia Daily News, Yong Kim)Kermit Gosnell, a Philadelphia physician, was convicted this week for first degree murder. A jury found him guilty of killing babies born alive after botched abortion procedures. There are academics who have cited prenatal testing and selective abortion for Down syndrome to argue that not only are Gosnell's actions not criminal, but morally justifiable. Continue Reading
April 15, 2013
Is the ISPD statement unjustified?
Continuing the series of posts on the new International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis's (ISPD) policy statement on prenatal testing for aneuploidy, I will seek to answer the questions prompted by that statement. In doing so, it leads to the ultimate question of whether the ISPD statement is unjustified? Continue Reading
April 11, 2013
Does the ISPD have its own version of Voldemort?
The International Society for Prenatal Diagnosis (ISPD) has issued a new position statement on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. I have reported on what the statement says in the past several posts. Now, we turn a critical eye to the statement to provide an ethical assessment of it. What is most glaring is what is not stated in the new statement. I wonder if the ISPD has it's own version of Voldemort. Continue Reading
April 9, 2013
Happy birthday, Baby Doe
Today would have been Baby Doe's birthday. But, when Baby Doe was born in 1982, he was born with Down syndrome and his doctor believed some individuals with Down syndrome were "mere blobs." The doctor's medical advice to Baby Doe's parents was that they should let their child die from lack of care. I wrote about this in 2010. Re-reading the column, I was reminded of then-current examples of these views still being expressed and practiced. Lest we think this attitude towards withholding care to Continue Reading
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