 News
25th September 2008
New test can diagnose genetic problems at 7 weeksA
new blood test for pregnant women to detect genetic disorders in their children
has raised new fears over 'designer babies'. The simple test can diagnose
conditions such as Down’s syndrome and cystic fibrosis. And it can give
the gender of an unborn child at seven weeks – five weeks before the current time.
Campaigners fear the test would encourage ‘designer babies’, with parents
using it to select the sex of their child. And they say it will simply
lead to more abortions. The UK already has the highest rate of abortion
in western Europe, with almost 200,000 a year. Others are concerned that
if it is given to all pregnant women, many will not be prepared for the results,
which could force them to make the decision to have an abortion. Tessa
Homfray, consultant in clinical genetics at St George's Hospital medical school,
said: ‘This new technique could revolutionise prenatal diagnosis, but the disadvantage
is women could be having tests that they haven't thought about properly. ‘A
lot of people could have the test because it is totally safe, but they may not
want the information and should not have had the test in the first place.
‘Women may want the test because it will reassure them that everything is great,
but we cannot prepare someone for an abnormal result totally. ‘If people
take the test without wanting the information it could be psychologically damaging.’
Other experts hailed the new test, which could be available in five years,
because it is much safer than current tests for Down’s syndrome. Currently
pregnant women believed to be at risk of carrying a baby with Down's Syndrome
are offered an invasive procedure known as amniocentesis. As part of the
procedure, which leads to miscarriage in one in 50 cases, a needle is inserted
through the mother's abdomen and into the fluid surrounding the foetus. The
new blood test has none of these risks. It analyses DNA from the foetus which
is present in a woman's blood. The test can also find out whether male
children will develop the blood clotting disease haemophilia. Lyn Chitty,
a senior lecturer in genetics and foetal medicine at the institute of child health,
said the new ‘foetal DNA’ test could be available within five years. She
said: ‘It is potentially a big breakthrough but we have to be very careful about
how we offer and implement it.’ But Josephine Quintavalle, of pro-life
campaign Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the test would be a 'tool for discrimination'.
She said: ‘It does not offer any possibility except the termination of
the pregnancy. This is a pursuit for perfection. Having the right sex of a child
will become another quest for perfection. We are getting more information than
we know how to handle.’ Jane Fisher, director of the charity Antenatal
Results and Choices, said: ‘This test would be more accurate. Women do need to
be fully prepared for that before they embark on it. It is much more serious than
having just another blood test. ‘This test is not going to make it any
easier for parents to end a pregnancy. It is the most painful decision parents
will ever have to make.’ Where to next? | 
