Genetic Testing

• Why?

• For what?

• When?

• How?

Why?

• To ease pain and suffering

• To save lives

• Decisions made after results-when you test

Traits <>Genes

• What are traits?

• What are positive traits-things you’d like to see in potential offspring

• What are negative traits-things you’d like NOT to see in potential offspring

When test? What do if negative result?

• Carriers-mom and dad

• Preimplantation stage embryo

• Embryo/fetus

• Newborn

Birth Embryo

How? Tests

• Non-invasive– Ultrasound– blood

• Invasive– Amnioscentisis– Chorionic villus sampling– Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis: PGD

Requires in vitro/assisted reproductive technology

What to measure in sample?

• Chromosomes

• Protein/enzyme levels

• DNA-sequence

Once you have tested embryos

• Determine which carry mutation-discard

• Use only the ones that are wild type

Photo by Michael Mazolla

After ‘Apple’

• Empathy exercise

• Spectrum– Would you test to find out sex of child– Would you use information to choose the

sex of a child– Would you test for a genetic disease that

runs in your family-what would influence this decision

Why test/why not test?

• To ease pain and suffering

• To save lives

Not so clear/who decides what to test for?What action to take?

Argument against prenatal testing from the disabled community:

Suggests the lives of the disabled are not worth living

Should we test? For what?

Countering such arguments:

1. Prenatal screening expresses a hurtful message to those who live with disabilities.

The reasons that people do prenatal testing and screening vary.No message is being sent. There are lots of things that people do for their own reasons that some may disagree with or find problematic, but these decisions and actions are not about them or sending messages to them.

2. If screening leads to a decision not to bring the disabled child into existence, then the message is that a person who has a disability is unworthy of being born.

PersonSubject-of-a-life Birth ViabilityFetusEmbryoZygote-implantationEgg

But this confuses an already existing person with something that doesn’t exist.