Would you want to be tested at an early age to obtain information as to which inherited diseases you are likely to have as you go through life? Why or why not?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Practically all states now require mandatory genetic screening programs for various disorders. There are about 2,000 human disorders caused by defective genes, and it is estimated that each of us carries two or three of them. Mass genetic screening could eliminate some of these disorders. More and more pregnant women are being encouraged to terminate pregnancy if a fetus will be (or is at a high risk of being) genetically inferior. In addition, some genetic disorders can be corrected if diagnosed in time.

Genetic screening programs raise serious questions. Which fetuses should be allowed to continue to grow and which should be aborted? Who shall be allowed to have children? Who shall make such decisions? Is this a direction our country ought to take? Genetic screening during pregnancy can be used to detect a wide variety of inherited disorders. For example, Huntington's chorea is an inherited disease in which the principal symptoms are involuntary movements-either rapid, forcible, and jerky or smooth and sinuous. This disorder is often associated with loss of intellectual abilities. Its onset is usually evidenced during middle age. If a fetus is diagnosed as having the gene for this disorder, which usually results in serious mental and physical deterioration in midlife, the pregnant woman and her partner would then be faced with the heart-wrenching decision of whether it would be best to terminate the pregnancy.

The eugenics (scientific breeding) movement was proposed late in the 19th century and embraced by many scientists and government officials. Similar to today, eugenics was designed to improve humanity or individual races by encouraging procreation by those deemed "most desirable" and discouraging it in those judged "deficient."