Addressing the ethical challenges of noninvasive prenatal testing

Published September 2016

Summary: Advancements in genetics have changed the landscape of prenatal care in just the past five years, with a technology popularly known as noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT). Pregnant women now have the opportunity to learn an unprecedented amount of information, such as the chance that their future child might have Down syndrome, from a simple blood draw. But this information, which is useful but not diagnostic, can easily be misunderstood. It’s crucial to educate providers and patients about both the tests and the conditions they test for. The good news is that many efforts to do this are mobilizing – but there’s much more to be done.

Citation & link:

Michie M. (2016) Addressing the ethical challenges of noninvasive prenatal testing. Science of Caring September 2016; available at http://scienceofcaring.ucsf.edu/health-public/addressing-ethical-challenges-noninvasive-prenatal-testing.