Mark W. Leach is an attorney from Louisville, Kentucky pursuing a Master of Arts in Bioethics. He serves on the Board of Directors for Lettercase, recently presented on Brighter-Tomorrows at the annual conference for professors of obstetrics, and was a reviewer of the free downloadable book. The views expressed here are entirely his own and not to be attributed to any associated organization.
Calling fetuses defective if they are prenatally diagnosed with genetic conditions foreshadows a dangerous path toward eugenics.
Date posted: 2012-12-13
The challenge in preventing abortion of Down syndrome fetuses is not convincing mothers that their child is a human being with a right to life, but of assuring expectant mothers there will be support for their children after they are born.
Date posted: 2012-05-02
A new Down syndrome test raises important questions.
Date posted: 2011-12-04
New research on Down syndrome presents an overwhelmingly positive picture of how Down syndrome can affect individuals and families. These findings need to be shared as they will affect decisions made to accept prenatal testing and following a prenatal diagnosis.
Date posted: 2011-12-03
Why are parents encouraged to abort Down syndrome children and banned from aborting girls? My daughter Juliet was born with two genetic conditions that have been historically discriminated against. Recent comments about her genetic conditions expose a moral paradox in current medical standards of care.
Date posted: 2011-11-05
Prenatal testing for Down syndrome should not be considered preventive medicine. Such tests cannot prevent the presence of Down syndrome in a child; but they can decrease the likelihood of a child with Down syndrome surviving beyond the womb. Expectant parents need accurate information, including the many positive outcomes, about life raising a child with Down syndrome.
Date posted: 2011-09-29
Is the elimination of children with Down syndrome the first sign of a new eugenics? By the year 2030, Denmark will become Down syndrome-free. If this happens, the landmark elimination of this minority group will be due to the introduction of a national prenatal testing program in 2004. The number of DS births halved in 2005 and has dropped by 13 percent every year since then. Niels Uldbjerg, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics at the University of Aarhus, told the Copenhagen Post that this is a "tremendously great accomplishment".
Date posted: 2011-08-10
Since the beginning of the year, headlines have touted advancements in prenatal testing for unborn children with Down syndrome. But what is less reported in the coverage on the new testing is its likely impact. Already, existing prenatal testing is followed by high termination rates, exceeding 70 percent in California, and 90 percent in England and Europe. At this high percentage, it is more accurate to call it an "elimination rate." With each advance in prenatal testing, the next generation of children born with Down syndrome is smaller, so much so that there are close to 50 percent fewer children born with Down syndrome than if all were carried to term.
Date posted: 2011-04-15