Possibility of Testing Fetuses for Autism Prompts Ethics Debate
Jan 19th, 2009 • Posted in: NewsThe condition is sometimes linked with high achievement; some worry that the test could screen out geniuses
CAMBRIDGE, England
British scientists announced last week that they have developed a test that may enable a pre-birth screening for autism — a prospect that immediately sparked controversy in the European press.
Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, who developed the test, told the London Independent that there should be a vigorous ethics debate on this issue.
“Would [a test] be desirable?” he asked, according to the Independent. “What would we lose if children with autistic spectrum disorder were eliminated from the population? There is a test for Down’s syndrome, and that is legal, and parents exercise their right to choose termination. But autism is often linked with talent. It is a different kind of condition.”
Part of the problem, according to the U.K. Guardian: It is thought that many mathematics and engineering giants may very well have been autistic, as the condition is sometimes seen in people with very high skill development in certain areas but minimal skill at interaction.
Writing in a Times of London opinion piece, journalist Mangus Linklater suggests, “So if we found a test for autism, and gave parents the opportunity of aborting the fetus, we might eliminate not just an unwanted and difficult child but a potential genius.”
Sources: Independent, Jan. 13 — Guardian, Jan. 13 — Daily Mail, Jan. 13 — Times of London, Jan. 12.
For more information, see: Related Newsline story, Nov. 3, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Sep. 22, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Dec. 17, 2007 — Related Newsline story, Aug. 15, 2006.
Print This Story
Email This Story
[...] more information, see: Related Newsline story, Jan. 19 — Related Newsline story, May 19, 2008 — Related Newsline story, Sep. [...]