In the 1980’s, Nancy Wexler contributed to advances in medicine by discovering a genetic marker that could indicate inherited disorders linked to chromosomes, such as Down’s Syndrome, Huntington’s Disease, and Tay-Sachs Disease (Vaughn, 2013, p. 566). Since then, prenatal genetic screenings have become widely accessible through simple, low-risk procedures such as carrier testing, blood tests, and ultrasounds. These procedures are only capable of reporting the risk for inheriting abnormalities (Prenatal Genetic Screening Tests 2016). On the other hand, prenatal genetic testing offers a definitive answer that a child will be born with a particular defect through other methods which are not limited to cell-free DNA testing, amniocentesis, and
…show more content…
Mary Anne Warren argues that abortion is permissible because the fetus is not a person but merely a human, a “creature with human DNA” (Vaughn, 2013, p. 352). Warren defines the five points as consciousness and the capacity to feel pain, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the capacity to communicate, and the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness. According to Warren, something is not a person without these five points. Purdy’s argument also includes a utilitarian ideology, which says that, the best action to maximize “happiness”. I personally would not have a child if I were aware of the high-risk of transmitting a disease or defect because that would mean sentencing my child to unfair circumstances, disadvantages, and probable discrimination. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington shows the benefits of prenatal genetic testing. Researchers mapped the genome of an unborn child by obtaining cell-free DNA from the fetus that was released into the mother’s bloodstream as well as a sample of saliva from the father. This feat is “most valuable for testing for the presence of more than 3,000 conditions, including cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, known to be caused by a glitch in a single gene” in the unborn child at hand (Doughton, 2012). In the future, the procedure …show more content…
(2016, September 21). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/data.html
Doughton, S., & Sandi Doughton. (2012). The vancouver sun (1986): Researchers map unborn child's genome; simple blood test could soon allow for testing any fetus for hundreds of genetic defects Pacific Press.
Hickerton, C. L., Aitken, M., Hodgson, J. and Delatycki, M. B. (2012), “Did you find that out in time?”: New life trajectories of parents who choose to continue a pregnancy where a genetic disorder is diagnosed or likely. Am. J. Med. Genet., 158A: 373–383. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.34399
Vaughn, L. (2013). Bioethics : principles, issues, and cases. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Women's Health Care Physicians. (2016, September). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from
Mary Anne Warren argues that abortion is permissible because the fetus is not a person but merely a human, a “creature with human DNA” (Vaughn, 2013, p. 352). Warren defines the five points as consciousness and the capacity to feel pain, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the capacity to communicate, and the presence of self-concepts and self-awareness. According to Warren, something is not a person without these five points. Purdy’s argument also includes a utilitarian ideology, which says that, the best action to maximize “happiness”. I personally would not have a child if I were aware of the high-risk of transmitting a disease or defect because that would mean sentencing my child to unfair circumstances, disadvantages, and probable discrimination. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington shows the benefits of prenatal genetic testing. Researchers mapped the genome of an unborn child by obtaining cell-free DNA from the fetus that was released into the mother’s bloodstream as well as a sample of saliva from the father. This feat is “most valuable for testing for the presence of more than 3,000 conditions, including cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, known to be caused by a glitch in a single gene” in the unborn child at hand (Doughton, 2012). In the future, the procedure …show more content…
(2016, September 21). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/data.html
Doughton, S., & Sandi Doughton. (2012). The vancouver sun (1986): Researchers map unborn child's genome; simple blood test could soon allow for testing any fetus for hundreds of genetic defects Pacific Press.
Hickerton, C. L., Aitken, M., Hodgson, J. and Delatycki, M. B. (2012), “Did you find that out in time?”: New life trajectories of parents who choose to continue a pregnancy where a genetic disorder is diagnosed or likely. Am. J. Med. Genet., 158A: 373–383. doi:10.1002/ajmg.a.34399
Vaughn, L. (2013). Bioethics : principles, issues, and cases. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
Women's Health Care Physicians. (2016, September). Retrieved March 19, 2017, from