An individual interpretation of prenatal testing: Yes or no?
Individualized choice in prenatal screening: yes or no? Ethical reflections
Prenatal screening in The Netherlands focuses on (the chance of) Down's syndrome and a number of other chromosomal and structural disorders. New techniques enable new choices. One possibility is to limit prenatal screening to a small number of disorders. But one could just as well decide to expand the screening and include a much larger number of disorders. The extent of the screening has implications on for example the principle of informed consent, the degree of freedom of choice relating to reproductive questions and the possibilities for prevention. That is why the choice for a small or broad range is co-determined by the perspective that is applied; are we talking about prevention or autonomous freedom of choice?
The project aims to clarify the ethical implications of the two screening possibilities. What is being tested, why and who decides? Those are the key questions. Furthermore, the project will investigate whether society can/should make these choices or are they the reserve of the individual? As the field of prenatal diagnostics is developing at high speed, answers to these questions are urgently needed.