George Will had a provoking op-ed piece in the Washington Post a couple days ago that touched upon the concepts of genetic perfection, disability, and freedom of choice. He pointed out that 80% of fetuses that test positive for the genetic markers for Down’s Syndrome are aborted in the US. This, of course, has some disability rights groups concerned that expectant parents are being pressured into choosing abortion rather than attempting to raise a child with a disability. I’ll admit this is a sticky topic for me. I’m not prepared to condemn parents who choose not to have a child with a disability. At the same, I do think the much of the medical establishment tends to portray life with a disability in an exceedingly negative light. That’s why I could probably go along with something like Senator Brownback’s proposed Prenatally Diagnosed Condition Awareness Act. The bill, as Will describes it, would “increase the provision of scientifically sound information and support services to patients who receive positive test diagnoses for Down syndrome, spina bifida and other conditions.” Assuming that “scientifically sound information” also means politically unbiased information, I don’t have a problem with giving parents a complete picture of their child’s disability. If this bill threw up roadblocks to abortion like a forced waiting period, I’d have more reservations. But I do think there’s a certain amount of inevitability to this sort of thing. You can’t provide genetic testing and not expect parents to make decisions based on the results of those tests. Twenty years from now, I’d be very surprised if children are still born with SMA, at least in the developed world. I’m not saying that’s good or bad. It’s simply history at work.
