Complicated Questions

[lollardfish]

NY Times on Testing for Down Syndrome and it's consequences.

An interesting article and a subject I plan to write about down the road. This issue of how you break the news is pretty critical. Once, as Michael Berube wrote in his book, parents were told they had, or were going to have, a "mongoloid idiot" who would never recognize their parents, have an IQ of 20 or so, and would probably die by age 5. We've come a long way.

George Will wants to stop the test because, in his conservative reactionay mode, he wants to deny people information. He doesn't trust people.

I think, in my rosy liberal way, that people need to be educated and then allowed to make whatever choice they think is best, and that how we educate people is critical.

I do think the premise that programs for people with Down Syndrome will vanish if this test is made routine for women under 35 is flawed. Yes, rate of increase may slow, but the population won't vanish and hundreds of babies, at least (instead of the 5500) will still be born with the condition every year.

Anyway, it's complex. I look forward to seeing your comments.

Comments

[creidylad.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I missed quad screening both times out, but it's sort of six of one half a dozen of the other. They tell you amnios have increased risk of miscarriage, but that's not true at hospitals where there is top equipment and training.