General Ethical Dilemmas

Many of the general ethical dilemmas which arise in relation to genetic testing are not exclusive to this technology. As with all new developments in medicine, it is an ethical requirement that genetic tests are of proven safety and efficacy and that the benefits outweigh the risks and burdens before they are introduced into routine clinical practice. The stage at which technology moves from research to clinical application is as much an issue for genetic testing as it is for new treatments for cancer or heart disease. Those who believe that humanity exists as part of a divine plan may object to genetic testing on the basis that it seeks to interfere with natural processes or is a further manifestation of human hubris. Doctors are frequently accused of playing God'. If this were to mean that humankind should refrain from decision making about life or death, almost every kind of medical intervention would be precluded. We, however, be able.to draw boundaries which separate inter-. vent ions which are justified from those which are not. People who do not accept an absolutist religious position may nevertheless be unhappy about the attempts of humans to take ever greater control over their lives and the lives of their off spring. While we must accept that society has probably now lost the concept of children being born 'as nature intended', the continual striving for new developments in medical technology and ways of prolonging and improving life can sometimes manifest itself in what seems to some an almost obsessiveness for immortality or control. From another perspective, however, it has been suggested that increased genetic self awareness 'will help bring about the more rational attitude towards the inevitability of death of which modern societies (and healthcare systems) are in great need'.

Level of support for the child

There are concerns that as prenatal diagnosis becomes more widespread, those who decide not to have testing when they are known to be at risk of a genetic disorder, or who decide to continue with an affected pregnancy, may come to be seen as irresponsible. Where the child will be severe ti disabled and require long term and expensive treatment it is possible that society will become increasingly unwilling to pay for the necessary care, seeing the parents as 'to blame' for the birth and therefore individually responsible for the cost of treatment. In the USA there have been reports of private insurance companies attempting, unsuccessfully, to withhold reimbursement for medical care of children whose disability was detected before birth." With the increasing use of private medical insurance in the UK it is possible that a similar path may be trodden in this country. Any such moves must be vigorously opposed. The availability of resources for the care and treatment of a disabled child must not be contingent on whether the parents knew of the disability before the child was born.

Media perceptions

The media  naturally preoccupied with how genetic advances will affect people's lives in a dramatic manner.By concentrating on issues like genetic engineering or Cloning, they:seldom. mention how advances. in genetic technology may offer affected by genetic problems the only hope of attaining a reasonable standard of health or a normal lifespan.It transportation to allow the extreme or exceptional aspects of medicine's potential to dominate current debate in a way that obscures emote immediate goals of genetic technology.Whilst recognizing the poet.initial, for misuse,should,not lose sight of low.practice within genetic services focuses, on mitigating the tragic ace. of genetically transmitter.13etter ways of managing genetic conditions are, in the MBA's view, the main purpose And rationale of this technology.