A new perspective on prenatal screening

Writing in Canada’s professional journal of obstetrics, representatives of the Canadian Down Syndrome Society raise strong questions about the ethical implications of recent recommendations that all pregnant women be offered prenatal screening for Down syndrome.

“Our vision is of a proud Canada where all are welcome, where diversity is embraced, and where everyone’s genes are valued equally.”

CDSS vice-chair Rhonda Grant and executive director Krista Flint define Down syndrome as “a naturally occurring chromosomal arrangement that has always been part of the human condition.”

They maintain that social constructs and belief systems have aligned to cause perceptions that DS is a birth defect or an illness, a perception they say is flawed. They draw parallels between Down syndrome screening and prenatal sex selection, saying both practices are rooted in cultural biases that cause inequitable treatment and reduced quality of life for the targeted group.

Among their recommendations:

• Professional education for physicians and health care providers about the reality of lives lived with Down syndrome.


• A broad-based effort to provide accurate and balanced information to pregnant women, both about DS specifically and also about the realities of life with a disability.


• The use of value-neutral language by doctors in discussing Down syndrome with patients.


• A comprehensive plan to put prospective parents in contact with support groups or other knowledgeable parties.

Grant and Flint note that two members of the organization’s 11-member board have Down syndrome, as do twelve members of a board advisory committee. They describe the advisory board members as “university students, entrepreneurs, artists, employees and spouses who share our concerns about the new recommendations from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) and the implications of those recommendations for them and other people with disabilities.”

The letter is published in the July issue of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada (JOGC), Canada’s peer-reviewed journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and women’s health.

Democrats shift policy on abortion

Stephanie Simon, writing in the Los Angeles Times, notes that Democrats in Congress and on the campaign trail are adopting some of the language and policy goals of the antiabortion movement.

"In a striking shift, Democrats in the House last week promoted a grab bag of programs designed not only to prevent unwanted pregnancies, but also to encourage women who do conceive to carry to term.

"The new approach embraces some measures long sought by antiabortion activists. It's designed to appeal to the broad centrist bloc of voters who don't want to criminalize every abortion — yet are troubled by a culture that accepts 1.3 million terminations a year."

The story also notes the return of the Kennedy-Brownback bill, which disappeared in committee in the last session of Congress and was reintroduced last week.

"Liberal stalwart Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) is working with staunch conservative Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) to mandate more support services for pregnant women carrying fetuses with genetic abnormalities, such as Down syndrome. Focus on the Family, an influential conservative ministry, praises that bill as 'lifeaffirming.' "