Some interesting news came in today, buried behind front page Gerald Ford memorials and recounts of the Saddam Hussein hanging and its aftermath. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) recommends that all expecting mothers, not just those over 35, receive testing options for Down syndrome. The details are muddied in the Washington Post article on the topic, but if you’re willing to pay $20 to read the new guidelines, head to the January 2007 Obstetrics & Gynecology archives for access. At a high level, new testing techniques and improved understanding of prevalence are driving the recommendation.
What struck me about the news is that we’re witnessing early steps towards more serious (and omnipresent) prenatal diagnostic tools and genetic tinkering. I’d guess we’ll see rapid proliferation of such instruments in the years ahead.
As one might expect, some aren’t so happy about the idea:
But earlier detection is stoking an ethics debate among those who fear it’s another opportunity for abortion and a step closer to genetic engineering, where only perfect babies are selected to survive. (Huron Daily Tribune, Jan ‘06)
Consider the more fully developed prenatal toolkit depicted in the following clip (notably, a “deleted scene”) from Gattaca, one of my favorite movies:
It’s not a far-fetched future, and it’s worth thinking about.
Of course, we’re a long way from ready for even effective implementation of ACOG’s Down syndrome recommendations. After all, a recent survey of more than 500 practicing obstetricians indicated that “45% rated their residency training regarding prenatal diagnosis as barely adequate or nonexistent” and “only 55%…offer first-trimester screening for Down syndrome.” Can you hear the Continuing Medical Education providers licking their chops?
Surely this news comes as a relief to future or expecting parents, but I do stand on the cautious side of the issue. As you mentioned, this stirs ethical issues (and not specifically about abortion). For those who have seen Gattaca in its entirety know that it’s set against a backdrop of people so artificially designed and modified they hardly seem human. How far should we take it? Somewhere between stepping in to preventive down syndrome and creating a race of Frankensteins there is a line that shouldn’t be crossed.
To the contrary, the reason I’m so enamored with Gattaca is its central message about determination/perseverance despite preconceived notions (imagine that given my passion for entrepreneurship). Ethan Hawke delivers a fantastic performance as the unlikely astronaut who outwits/outlasts the “hand dealt at birth.” In fact, I found the insecurity and discrimination demonstrated by the “designer class” all too human.
Here’s a post that adds to the conversation: http://www.shareneedles.com/2006/12/kurzweil_king_o.html