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A globally renowned neonatal therapist, Professor Carlo Bellieni,
director of the department of Intensive Neonatal Therapy at Le
Scotte University Polyclinic of Siena, Italy, recently discussed the
ethical parameters in which prenatal testing is licit and even
recommended and when it should not be done. He was interviewed by
Zenit.
While prenatal testing is now almost
commonplace, Prof. Bellieni, Zenit reports, does not give an ethical
green light in all cases and circumstances. He is a member of the
Pontifical Academy for Life.
Prenatal testing can be broadly divided into
genetic and non-genetic types, Prof. Bellieni told Zenit.
Prenatal testing of the genetic variety often
uses direct tests such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus
sampling to study the child’s chromosomal makeup. This yields
diagnosis of such conditions as Down Syndrome. Genetic testing can
also be indirect, with the use of structural sonograms or analysis
of maternal blood.
The expert noted that genetic testing does not
currently have the aim of curing the child. Testing for certain
non-genetic conditions, meanwhile—things such as growth delay,
malformations, fetal suffering—can lead to treatments and cures,
either before birth or shortly afterward.
“Research in itself,” Prof. Bellieni said,
“is always something good.” But he cautioned against routine
testing that can create a mentality in which parents feel pressured
to seek and verify that they are carrying a “perfect child.”
Intention to abort
He offered some principles for families faced
with the possibility of prenatal testing.
First, he affirmed, “Prenatal diagnosis should
have a positive intention for the health of the child and the
mother.”
Zenit earlier reported that statistics show this
“positive intention” is often lacking. Last September, citing
the Washington Post, Zenit said some 90 percent of unborn children
diagnosed with Down Syndrome are aborted.
In one of his monthly bioethics columns, Father
Tadeusz Pacholczyk, director of education at the Philadelphia-based
National Catholic Bioethics Center, pointed out that prenatal
testing is gravely immoral if done with the intention of aborting
the child if the tests reveal abnormality.
Prof. Bellieni said that even if there is no
intention to abort, the risks of prenatal tests for the child must
be taken into account. He stressed that, for example, one in about
every 100 or 200 amniocentesis tests results in the death of the
baby in the womb.
Early medical intervention
On the other hand, as Father Pacholczyk
explained in his column, “Prenatal testing is permissible, indeed
desirable, when done with the intention of providing early medical
intervention to the child.”
Citing the disease known as Krabbe’s
leukodystrophy as an example, Father Pacholczyk said it “can be
successfully treated by a bone marrow transplant shortly after
birth. If a diagnosis of the disease is made by prenatal testing,
the family can initiate the search for a matched bone marrow sample
even before the child is born. That way, valuable time can be saved,
and the early intervention improves the likelihood of a good
outcome.”
The priest noted that other diseases, such as
spina bifida, can be treated while the baby is in the womb.
“Prenatal testing which aims to provide
diagnostic information to assist in the treatment of an in utero
patient represents a morally praiseworthy use of this powerful
technology,” he concluded.
Psychological serenity
Another positive effect of prenatal testing,
Prof. Bellieni noted, regards the psychological serenity of the
parents. “In cases especially full of tension,” he said, the
tests could serve “to calm the couple in case of intense anxiety
over their child’s genetic health. But this should not be made
routine, so as not to create the mentality—in the couple and in
the population—that the first position to have toward a child is
to ‘verify his normality.’”
The professor also offered advice to doctors and
specialists who perform the tests. He urged them to seek the
informed consent of the parents, saying they must be made aware of
the objectives and the risks involved in testing.
“In case of diagnosis of pathology, the woman
or couple must be directed to the specialist of the pathology in
question, with which therapeutic possibilities will be further
explored and the real nature of the problem determined,” he added.
“It might also be of use to involve officially recognized
associations of relatives or patients of the pathology in
question.”
[Published by courtesy of Zenit.org]
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