Being a parent is one of the main, most important and the most complex responsibility of an adult. We live in the 21st century, in the world of technological and informational progress, the level of medicine industry has been growing steadily with the development of computer and nanotechnologies. The most important goals of parenting are to grow up a healthy and independent child, benefiting oneself and society and realize their potential to satisfy its physical needs and create the best possible conditions for the spiritual and social development of the child. With the modern science, it is possible to find out a lot about the future baby before it is born. With the help of x-raying, genetic tests a lot of illnesses can be prevented, but at the same time, a baby is exposed to the dangers connected with these procedures, especially genetic testing.
Genetic testing is a procedure which has appeared recently in the medicine. What does it stand for, and for what purposes is it used? “People have many different reasons for being tested or not being tested. For many, it is important to know whether a disease can be prevented if a gene alteration causing a disease is found.” (FAQ About Genetic Testing, 2013). With the help of genetic testing it is possible to find out if the tested person has a specific gene which could be the subject for an illness of the person in the future after the process of combining with a similar one. Moreover, this procedure has become very popular among the pregnant women: they decide to get this genetic testing done in order to be sure that the future baby will be free of any genetic diseases. Furthermore, the genetic testing can give a clear picture if the subject of the test has specific symptoms. Besides this, the test also points out if the person is actually a carrier of the genetic abnormality. Being a carrier means that the person has this gene but will not get ill. The important fact is that this gene might be passed to the children. Another purpose of it is to screen the infants for the lack of proteins that could lead to the development of the disease. It’s called newborn screening. Further tests could determine the type of medicine as well as the dose which suits the patient’s case perfectly. It’s called pharmacogenetics.
First of all, this procedure is highly recommended to those people, in whose family history the tendency for genetic disorders is observed: have children that were born with defects, more than one miscarriage and so on. Additionally, pregnant women should also be tested, especially above the age of 35, because according to the group of scientists, the rate of unborn babies with genetic disorders is much higher in this case. “As a woman ages, her risk of having an infant born with a chromosomal disorder such as Trisomy 21 or Down Syndrome increases.” (Ellence Garvey, 2012)
Even though the procedure is considered to be somewhat dangerous, especially to the unborn human being, the tendency of getting such genetic tests has been rising quickly over the past few years, despite the fact that these subjects do not have potential risk factors which could lead to the abnormalities. These parents are just trying to be sure that their unborn child does not have any abnormalities. This issue has divided the society onto two parts: The one that support the idea of genetic testing of the unborn babies, the other one categorically rejects the idea, due to the fact that it might be dangerous to the baby itself. There have been several debates already between these two groups. In order to find out what are the pros and cons we need to take a look at the process of genetic testing itself and how is it performed.
The Parental genetic screening is comprised of two separate tests. The very first one is connected with the mother’s blood. The name of this test is maternal serum screening. In this process the samples of blood from the mother are collected and analyzed for the chances that the unborn baby will have any genetic abnormalities: the Down syndrome, trisomy 18 or neural tube defect and many others. On the one hand, the test is completely safe for the baby as well as for the mother, but on the other hand, these test results are not precise, moreover, they cannot reassure the doctors and parents whether the unborn child will have such diseases or not. This test basically shows the high or low risk of further development of the disease. As a direct consequence to getting high risk result – a woman has an option to proceed with another test – amniocentesis. This test involves getting samples from the mother’s womb: the amniotic fluid. The results are much more precise than those in the first place. The rate of accuracy is 98%. A lot of couples have to decide whether to proceed with this test or not. We shall review the Pros and Cons of the parental genetic testing.
There are two sides of the coin, as always. One stands for the people that believe in this test as being a useful tool for the doctors to analyze the condition of the unborn child, whilst at the same time opponents of this procedure are present. According to them this procedure contradicts with social, moral, religious as well as psychological standards.
As for the cons I would like to start off with moral and ethical prospective. It is a known fact that the baby is under the constant mutations and changes, whilst being in the mother’s womb. Therefore, it is illogical to be that anxious to even consider proceeding with such tests. According to the opponents this anxiety is the worst thing connected with such tests, because the results might not mean that the baby will have this problem. Consequently, this puts a huge question mark on the accuracy of genetic test. Apart from this, another group of people argue on the moral positioning of the problem. They argue that it is incorrect and immoral to terminate a person’s life just due to the fact that he might has the possibility to be born with genetic abnormalities. Religion prohibits this also, because no one has the right to take away the life. Only God can do so. At the same time some scientists would argue this fact. According to the writer, "No potential being has a right to become an actual being -- abortion is not a 'wrong' to the individual because the individual in question will never have existed,"(Tom Strode, 2012). Moreover, this test is very expensive, not every one’s insurance company will cover the costs of these procedures. “The cost of genetic testing can range from under $100 to more than $2,000, depending on the nature and complexity of the test.” (Genetic Testing, 2013) Finally, the genetic testing of unborn babies has its own advantages and disadvantages. It is important to weight all the pros and cons of going with this procedure, moreover, it needs to be discussed with the physician, in order to come to the golden middle.
References
FAQ About Genetic Testing. (n.d.). National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) - Homepage. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://www.genome.gov/19516567
Garvey, E., & MD. (n.d.). Pros and Cons of Genetic Screening During Pregnancy. Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://www.bmhvt.org/healthmatters/pros-and-cons-of-genetic-screening-during-pregnancy
Genetic Testing - Genetics Home Reference. (n.d.). Genetics Home Reference - Your guide to understanding genetic conditions. Retrieved August 6, 2013, from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/handbook/testing?show=all
Genetic testing on unborn babies to boom. (n.d.). Genetic testing on unborn babies to boom. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/7415414/Genetic-testing-on-unborn-babies-to-boom
New Genetic Test a 'Death Sentence' for Unborn - Christian News, Commentary. (n.d.). Christian News, Religion Headlines Commentary. Retrieved August 5, 2013, from http://www.religiontoday.com/news/new-genetic-test-a-death-sentence-for-unborn.html
