Huntington's disease: prenatal screening for late onset disease

Abstract

This article presents a set of moral arguments regarding the selective abortion of fetuses on the basis of prenatal screening for late onset genetic diseases only, and for Huntington's Disease* in particular. After discussion of human suffering, human perfection and the distinctive features of the lives of people confronting late onset genetic disease, the author concludes that selective abortion is difficult to justify ethically, although it must remain a matter of personal choice.

PIP: Prenatal screening can already detect some late onset diseases such as Huntington's Disease and eventually will detect even more such diseases. Aborting a fetus with minor or moderately serious genetic indications which become apparent in later life poses serious moral concerns. Women who have undergone prenatal screening tend to base decisions about aborting a fetus on severity of the genetic defect, the probability of its occurrence, and the age of onset of the condition. Parents would rather not bring suffering into the world. Yet even humans born in good health do not escape suffering. Society is moving toward a preference for infants who, at the physical level, are perfect, but does not consider other levels of human existence. Almost everyone considers selective abortion of a fetus with a grave defect which would manifest early and cause a life of severe suffering is acceptable. Yet some people with varying degrees of suffering lead very creative and rewarding lives, e.g., the talented Russian writer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, had a seizure disorder. He experienced a high feeling of bliss prior to a seizure. Another example is the famous artist, Toulouse-Lautrec, who was born with a normal body but, due to 2 accidents which broke his legs, his legs did not develop and he suffered greatly. Huntington's Disease, a severe disease lasting about 10 years and involving personality changes, jerky movements, paranoia, dementia, inability to think cognitively, and eventual death, shows up between the ages of 30-50. The 1st 30-50 years of life have the potential to be fulfilling. Besides normal people can also suffer and experience dementia in old age. Parents may not even live long enough to see the suffering and certainly are not as burdened as parents of children with early onset diseases. Thus abortion for Huntington's Disease is almost unjustifiable.