Advances in prenatal screening: the ethical dimension

Nat Rev Genet. 2011 Aug 18;12(9):657-63. doi: 10.1038/nrg3036.

Abstract

Prenatal screening strategies are undergoing rapid changes owing to the introduction of new testing techniques. The overall tendency is towards broadening the scope of prenatal testing through increasingly sensitive ultrasound scans and genome-wide molecular tests. In addition, non-invasive prenatal diagnosis is likely to be introduced in the near future. These developments raise important ethical questions concerning meaningful reproductive choice, the autonomy rights of future children, equity of access and the proportionality of testing.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Abortion, Eugenic
  • Aneuploidy
  • Child
  • Chromosome Aberrations*
  • Ethics, Medical
  • Female
  • Genetic Association Studies / methods*
  • Genetic Testing
  • Humans
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Karyotyping
  • Neonatal Screening / ethics*
  • Patient Rights / ethics
  • Pregnancy
  • Prenatal Diagnosis / ethics
  • Prenatal Diagnosis / methods
  • Sequence Analysis, DNA