New test for Down’s raises important ethical questions

Abstract

For a pregnant woman, easily and safely finding out for certain whether her baby will have Down’s syndrome is an attractive prospect. The point of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD), as with current tests, is to give information about the health of the foetus. It’s just that this test is risk free and doesn’t need a needle to be inserted into a woman’s uterus. Should we worry about medicine making this test safer? This test is an amazing development. Imagine the heartbreak of having an invasive test to then miscarry as a result. But before we roll this test out across the NHS, we need to address important ethical questions.