Timothy Wong
Matthew Wood
April 3, 2015
On
the Burden of Knowledge and Genetic Screening for the Purpose of Informed
Abortion
There are many types of genetic screening for many
purposes. Some have screenings performed for detection of specific diseases as
adults. However, for the purpose of this discussion, I will be speaking
specifically about fetal screening. I believe that this type of screening,
while possibly beneficial, is wrong for one significant reason, or rather one
significant choice to be made: if a child will be born with a disability then
the parents must choose to either abort the fetus based on the information, or
to bring it into the world with the burden of knowledge the screening provided,
knowing that the child will be disabled.
From a Christian perspective, there is nothing wrong with
giving birth to and raising a disabled child, one with Down syndrome for
example. It is an opportunity for us to be thankful for God’s blessing, and to
glorify him. However, for those without this confidence, it can be seen as
unkind and unfair to give birth to a child with a disability. Thus, the
knowledge can be burdensome to the parents. However, to counteract this, many
view abortion as an option. This by itself is a controversial topic, and an
action that I believe is immoral.
But, what is genetic screening; what tests can be
performed? “Some of the techniques
that researchers use are RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism)
analysis and DNA probes. RFLP analysis utilizes enzymes from bacteria
that are thought to be used as defense mechanisms against invading viral DNA…[and]
A DNA probe is a piece of DNA that binds to certain sequences of the hosts DNA”
(1). In addition, there is also the concept of in vitro fertilization. “Parents
now have the ability to have multiple eggs fertilized and have each one
screened for abnormalities” (1). This, again, is a separate moral dilemma.
These tests, if
accepted and performed, all can place a heavy burden of knowledge on the
mother. It is a hard moral dilemma, to choose whether to abort a disabled child
or to bring it into the world, and sadly many parents do choose to abort based
on the knowledge gained (2). I encourage parents then to very carefully
consider whether or not to have genetic screens performed on their unborn
children. If the screen is performed, and the child is in fact going to be born
with a disability, then the burden of knowledge is almost too great to bear,
and the parents are faced with a terrible choice. I believe that it is better
to not have the screen performed, to not have to bear that burden of knowledge.
(1)
Christenson, S. (n.d.). The Ethical
Considerations of Genetic Screening. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~mcclean/plsc431/students98/christenson.htm
(2)
Sagredo, B. (n.d.). Genetic Screening.
Retrieved April 3, 2015, from http://www.ndsu.edu/pubweb/~mcclean/plsc431/students/boris.htm
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