While there are benefits to genetic screening during pregnancy, parents must not let their desire for a genetically perfect child allow them to terminate a pregnancy because of non-medical factors.
Physicians need to take an active role in improving the genetic literacy of the general population and also push for public health policies that make new genetic tools available to everyone.
A journal author argues that the current health system puts too much emphasis on patient safety when our resources should instead be aimed at the programs and activities that will result in the greatest overall improvement in patient health.
Dr Dinushika Mohottige and Karina Albistegui Adler join Ethics Talk to discuss their article, coauthored with Allison Charney and Dr Lilia Cervantes: “What Should Clinicians in Organizations Without Established MLP Programs Do When Their Patients Need Lawyers to Meet Their Health Needs?”
The journal invites students to share their medical training observations captured in photographs by highlighting a drawing of a DNA double helix as a symbol for the role of ethics in genetic research.
Physicians need to be aware of the legal and ethical issues raised by genetic information and technology, as evidenced by three court rulings dealing with prenatal testing and a family predisposition to genetic genetically transferred illness.