The manufacturability of the human being: aimed at perfection? - Lauren Bellemans

Isn’t it unbelievable how quickly nature has gone into retreat? Until ten years ago, the dominant story was that our genes were determined (Lane, 2012). Today, everything seems possible. Prenatal screenings such as the NIPT-test, for example, appear to be the norm and fewer children are born with Down’s syndrome. As a result, a child with Down's syndrome is increasingly deviating from the norm (Lensink, 2015).

Technology is saddling us up with more and more, often difficult, choices. So, you could ask yourself, does science benefit society with technological advancements or does it have undesirable consequences? The manufacturability of the human being often leads to more uniformity and ‘perfection’ but conversely, the acceptance of variety decreases (Lensink, 2015).

As a parent, you are responsible in all cases for deciding whether or not to take a NIPT-test and for keeping or removing your child if Down's syndrome is likely to occur. So, taking a NIPT-test may be a good idea if you are, as a future parent, aware of the fact that raising a child with Down’s syndrome may be too hard for you. Of course, it puts you for a heart-breaking dilemma, but every child deserves the best care. Taking your financial situation, religious belief and family situation into account is important, but as Julie mentioned in her blog, you don’t become a parent in a vacuum, but in a society filled with people. Those people include social workers and health care professionals who stand by parents with doubts and difficulties (Van Goidsenhoven, 2019).

Maybe children with Down’s syndrome are given even more chances to be themselves, without having to comply with what society demands. Isn’t that wonderful? More importantly, how do you look at this as a future parent? Sometimes the choice is more difficult than the result…

References:

Lensink, J. (2015). Eigen Schuld: verantwoordelijkheid en het keuzeproces bij prenataal testen voor het syndroom van Down: Een vergelijking van wetenschappelijke uitgangspunten. Laatst geraadpleegd op 10 december 2019, https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/303626.

Van Goidsenhoven, L. (2019). Wetenschap kan veel leren van individuele verhalen. Laatst geraadpleegd op 10 december 2019, https://sociaal.net/opinie/wetenschap-kan-veel-leren-van-individuele-verhalen/.

Lane, A. (2012). Beyond Human Nature: How Culture and Experience Shape our Lives. Laatst geraadpleegd op 10 december 2019, https://www.newstatesman.com/books/2012/01/prinz-learning-capacities.

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308

Peer’s blog website:

https://juliebogaerts.blogspot.com/2019/11/are-you-bad-parent-when-you-decide-to.html

Are you a bad parent when you decide to keep your baby with Down syndrome?

The NIPT-test, Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing, is a technique used to test a fetus for a range of genetic conditions, such as Down syndrome (Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2019). It only takes a blood sample from the pregnant woman, the test is relatively cheap and quick. What is there not to like, you may think?

These medical evolutions don’t come without ethical questions. For the sake of argument, place yourself in the position of a parent-to be, confronted with the possibility of taking this test. If you decide to take the test and the result turns out to be positive, have you considered the next question? The next question in this case is: do you want to be the parent of not only a child, but of a child with Down syndrome. If not, then you have to deal with the option of having an abortion. Standing in front of this choice, would you prefer not to know anything before the birth of your child and deal with the near limitless amount of uncertainty that parenthood involves, step by step? Is it better not to know certain things (Journal of Medical Ethics, 2019).

On top of this, you do not become a parent in a vacuum, but in a society filled with people. The political choice of investing money in making this test more readily available, instead of investing in facilities making life easier for people with Down syndrome seems to communicate a certain view (Lensink, 2015). These political choices seem to imply that a society with less people with Down syndrome is the more preferable one.

However, in the end, this puts parents in an almost impossible choice that only on the surface seems to be an individual one. Are you ready to cope with this massive load of responsibility?

Literature list

Journal of Medical Ethics. (2019). ‘Is it better not to know certain things?’: views of women who have undergone non-invasive prenatal testing on its possible future applications. Opgehaald van https://jme.bmj.com/content/45/4/231.info

Lensink, J. (2015). Eigen Schuld: verantwoordelijkheid en het keuzeproces bij prenataal testen voor het syndroom van Down: Een vergelijking van wetenschappelijke uitgangspunten. Opgehaald van https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/303626

Nuffield Council on Bioethics. (2019). Our concerns about non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in the private healthcare sector [blog]. Retrieved from https://nuffieldbioethics.org/blog/nipt-private