Understanding the Pros and Cons of Prenatal Genetic Testing

                                                                                         

If you are pregnant, you and your partner may have been spending a considerable amount of time debating whether or not you should do prenatal genetic testing. This whole debate frankly can be emotionally charged. Therefore, it is important for you to step back for a moment and to deliberately and calmly consider the pros and cons that are associated with genetic testing.

In this day and age a growing number of people are seeking genetic testing for themselves or their unborn babies. The rise in the number of people who see genetic testing has been accompanied by a rise in the volume of the controversy surrounding genetic testing.

One of the more controversial elements associated with genetic testing involves those individuals that advocate this type of testing in order to identify unborn babies that do have severe genetic defects. The theory is that if these babies can be identified, if babies that have no hope of a so-called “normal existence” can be identified before they are born, the pregnancy can be terminated in order to avoid a great deal of suffering all around. Again, this is a controversial position, a position that is subject to much debate. (In this regard, the term “baby” is used in this article not as a means of suggesting one position or another in this debate. Rather, it is intended merely in the generic term that people utilize in most cases when discussing an embryo or fetus, when discussing a baby yet to be born.)

Because of this particular controversy, there is an active group of people who advocates banning genetic testing. On the other hand, there are plenty of other individuals who are standing firm in support of genetic testing for the benefits that can be derived from the process.

Genetic testing is proving very useful in identifying certain types of conditions and ailments that actually can be corrected before the baby is born. Therefore, genetic testing as a process is playing a role in regard to pregnancy for which few people have any specific disagreement.

In addition, there are many parents who elect to have genetic testing undertaken so that they can be prepared for a baby that might have some sort of serious problem, some sort of serious health or physical issue. These parents do not desire to terminate a pregnancy but rather desire to be well prepared for the birth of a child that will have special needs.

Genetic testing is recommended in situations in which one or another of the parents has a history of genetic issues or defects. It is also recommended in those cases in which the mother is over a certain age. (Many doctors recommend genetic testing for expectant mothers who are over the age of forty or forty-two.)

The debate over genetic testing is expected to continue – rage, really – well into the future. If you are pregnant and considering genetic testing, it is important that you be armed with the facts of the process rather than the heated issues in the debate so that you can make an informed decision.

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