That a woman would abort a fetus doomed by genetic defects to an early and painful death is a decision supported by most Americans and nearly all people with pro-choice sensibilities. But as fetal testing becomes more common and more sophisticated, women will be confronted with a more difficult dilemma: should they abort fetuses who carry genes for mental retardation, degenerative diseases and other non-life threatening characteristics?
Abortion rights supporters — who believe that a woman has the right to make decisions about her own body — have had to grapple with the reality that the right to choose may well be used selectively to abort fetuses deemed genetically undesirable. And many are finding that, while they support a woman’s right to have an abortion if she does not want to have a baby, they are less comfortable when abortion is used by women who don’t want to have a particular baby.
“How much choice do you really want to give?” asked Arthur Caplan, chairman of the department of medical ethics at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine. “That’s the challenge of prenatal testing to pro-choicers.”
Previous Wired coverage here.
Genetic Testing + Abortion = ??? [New York Times]
Image: aymlis
