scholarly journals Prenatal Genetic Screening and Potential Complicity in Abortion: Considerations for Catholic Health Care

2019 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 206-217
Author(s):  
Carolyn A. Laabs
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
Genetic Screening ◽  
Genetic Disorder ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
The United States ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Prenatal Diagnostic ◽  
Catholic Health Care

Prenatal genetic screening (PGS) is commonplace in the United States and in some parts of the world. The commonly held rationale for screening is to respect patient autonomy and to either allow the mother the opportunity to prepare herself to parent a child with a genetic disorder or to abort. As a result, PGS combined with prenatal diagnostic testing followed by abortion has significantly reduced the number of babies born with Down syndrome, for example, and, furthermore, has raised concerns about discrimination against persons with disabilities and eugenics. Although Catholic teaching clearly prohibits PGS and testing when undertaken with the intention of abortion, screening routinely is performed in Catholic health care, sometimes without regard to intent. This essay explores the issue of PGS in Catholic health care and suggests the development of a policy designed to support morally legitimate use of screening through an educational and informed consent process and attestation as to intent so as to prevent abortion or at least avoid complicity in it. Although the issue applies to prenatal testing as well as screening and for a variety of disorders as well as gender, this essay limits itself to a discussion of first trimester screening and a focus on Down syndrome. Objections to such a policy are discussed.

Revising the ERDs for the 21st Century

2021 ◽  
Vol 46 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
John F. Brehany ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Moral Tradition ◽  
Modern Health Care ◽  
Catholic Health Care

Since their inception in 1948, The Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services (ERDs) have guided Catholic health care ministries in the United States, aiding in the application of Catholic moral tradition to modern health care delivery. The ERDs have undergone two major revisions in that time, with about twenty years separating each revision. The first came in 1971 and the second came twenty-six years ago, in 1995. As such, a third major revision is due and will likely be undertaken soon.

A Brief History of Catholic Bioethics

2016 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. 3-4
Author(s):  
Louise A. Mitchell ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Good Samaritan ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Catholic Health Care ◽  
History Of ◽  
Catholic Hospital ◽  
The Church

The foundations of modern Catholic bioethics were laid with the teachings of Christ, especially in the example He set as the Divine Physician and through the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Church thus cared for the sick and built hospitals for two thousand years before adopting a definite bioethical focus. Equally important for Catholic bioethics, especially in clinical practice, was the development of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. They are based on the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Hospitals, which were first published by the Catholic Hospital Association in 1948, revised in 1955, and revised and adopted by the United States Catholic Conference in 1971. Secular bioethics split from theology and metaphysics in favor of the rationalism and humanism which developed out of Enlightenment thought, whereas Catholic bioethics continued its own development, keeping both its theological and its metaphysical roots.

An Introduction to the Sixth Edition of the ERDs

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sixth Edition ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Catholic Health Care ◽  
The Church ◽  
Catholic Bishops

In July 2018, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published the sixth edition of the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services. While only part 6 of the ERDs was revised, the revisions were substantial. These revisions strengthen the role of the local bishop, provide new guidance for assessing collaborative arrangements, and introduce a new consideration for assessment beyond the principles of cooperation and theological scandal—the witness of the Church. This article provides an initial overview of the revisions and some brief commentary on their significance.

Prenatal serum screening for Down syndrome and neural tube defects in the United States: Changes in utilization patterns from 2012 to 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 096914132110316
Author(s):  
Nathalie Lepage ◽  
Philip Wyatt ◽  
Edward R Ashwood ◽  
Robert G Best ◽  
Thomas Long ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Down Syndrome ◽  
First Trimester ◽  
The United States ◽  
Maternal Serum ◽  
Second Trimester ◽  
Maternal Serum Screening ◽  
Cell Free Dna ◽  
Free Dna ◽  
Serum Screening

Objective To compile current usage of serum-based prenatal screening for Down syndrome in the United States and compare it with results from a similar 2011/2012 survey. Setting The College of American Pathologists maternal screening proficiency testing survey includes a supplemental question on the first of three yearly distributions. Methods Information regarding tests offered and the monthly number of pregnancies tested for US-based laboratories were reviewed. Results were stratified by size of laboratory, tests offered, and pregnancies tested. Findings were compared to an earlier survey. Results Fifty-six laboratories reported they will have screened 1,131,336 pregnancies in 2020. Of these, 36% are screened by stand-alone first trimester testing, 48% by stand-alone second trimester testing, and 16% using tests that integrate results from both trimesters. Eighty percent of all serum screens were provided by the five laboratories that performed the most screens (at least 50,000). These five performed similar proportions of first or second trimester screens (42.2% and 41.8%, respectively). Compared to eight years earlier, there are now 54% fewer laboratories. Pregnancies screened using the first trimester, second trimester, and integrated protocols were lower by 27%, 69%, and 72%, respectively. The serum screening activity in the US showed a 62% decrease from 2012 levels. During 2012–2020, the number of cell-free DNA tests increased from negligible to 1,492,332. Conclusions Maternal serum screening for common aneuploidies has changed significantly in eight years with fewer laboratories, a shift toward larger laboratories and a 2.5-fold reduction in pregnancies tested, likely due to the introduction of cell-free DNA screening.

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