リプロな日記

中絶問題研究者~中絶ケア・カウンセラーの塚原久美のブログです

BioEDGEのニュースレターによれば,ダウン症出生前診断アメリカの医師たち(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)が勧奨したという。以下,冒頭のみ紹介。
(ウェブはwww.australasianbioethics.org,Weekly Newsletter -- Tuesday, 2 January 2007 -- Number 233)

DOWN SYNDROME SCREENING COULD BECOME UNIVERSAL IN US

All pregnant American women should be offered screening for Down
syndrome in their first trimestre, not just over-35s, according to
guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists. Although women over 35 have a much higher chance of
bearing Down syndrome children, younger women actually give birth to
most of them. Appropriate counselling should be given to women if
the test proves positive. If it is, most women abort the child.
Hence, widespread screening will eventually eliminate most Down
syndrome children.
(後略)

この情報の出所であるLos Angeles Times, Dec 31の記事は,次で読めます。
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-down31dec31,1,1804226.story?coll=la-headlines-nation&ctrack=1&cset=true

これに対する反論も始まっている。

Technology ReviewのThursday, January 04, 2007号から紹介。

Shaping Babies


The number of genetic tests that can be performed during in vitro fertilization is skyrocketing. What does this mean for human reproduction?


By Emily Singer


Parents undergoing in vitro fertilization can now choose embryos based on their genetic risk of cancer and Alzheimer's. That's thanks to pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD): genetic testing carried out after in vitro fertilization but before a fetus is returned to its mother's womb. The number of testing options is rapidly growing as scientists discover genetic variants linked to myriad health problems, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

The surge in the number of potential tests brings the ethical quandaries associated with PGD back to the forefront. Currently, no laws exist in the United States governing the use of PGD. So doctors, clinicians, and their ethical-review boards are called on to make complex ethical decisions, such as if parents can choose the sex of their baby for nonmedical reasons or be allowed to screen embryos for diseases that they may never develop or that may only strike late in life.

Vardit Ravitsky, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, studies the ethical issues surrounding PGD. She says that the regulatory situation in the United States needs to change and outlines her view for Technology Review.
(後略)

見落としてしまったが,Neuroscience threatens free will(New York Times Jan 2, 2007),これ関連の記事だったのかも。要チェック。