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Essay On Prenatal Testing

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The Implications of Prenatal Testing for Disabilities
[1] Advancements in technology are creating rapid growth in genetic research including new ways of offering prenatal testing and genetic selection. Currently, prospective parents can choose to test for the sex of the fetus before choosing to have the child or abort the pregnancy. It is possible that technology could be used to identify medical traits that could lead to avoiding giving birth to a disabled child. When considering the best way to test for disabilities prior to the birth of a child we can consider three options: (a) testing for all disabilities should be routine, (b) testing should be done upon request, after prospective parents have been encouraged to meet with a genetic counselor to be educated about …show more content…
[5] Yes, we have the obligation to provide our children with the best possible life but prenatal testing for disabilities should be limited to conditions that would lead to the child having a life not worth living or conditions that have treatment options prior to birth that would increase the child’s quality of life. Using prenatal testing for any other purpose will do more harm than good to the child and society, as we will be putting high expectations on the child and promoting social inequality. According to the three theories of well being, hedonistic, desire-fulfillment and the objective list theory we will not be providing the best opportunities for our children to be happy. While prenatal testing can provide some vital information that will benefit expecting parents, using it create children without disabilities discriminates and dehumanizes those currently living with mental and physical deficiencies. It will also create greater social inequality as those

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