Social implications of biotechnology

The amount of information that can be gained through prenatal genetic screening is unprecedented, leaving prospective parents who discover their fetus has a defect the choice of whether to continue the pregnancy. There is nothing new in this choice, which is legally and ethically defensible as a private decision protected by parents' procreative liberty, except for the fact that the decision can be made much earlier in the pregnancy and for many more genetic defects than could be screened for even a few years ago. While health care providers struggle to remain "neutral" in their provision of information, a potential discussion of the social implications of this testing is truncated in the rush to give consumers what they demand: more information. A frank discussion of the validity of eugenics and eugenic practices needs to accompany the technological advances being made in genetic testing. This paper will explore three potential points for such a discussion: (1) that our society lacks a moral vocabulary to articulate what might be unethical about private eugenic choices; (2) that unfettered access to genetic information about one's offspring will change and is changing the meaning of parenthood; and (3) that an American drive for self-improvement and the improvement of one's offspring will find a ready partner in the medical-pharmaceutical industry meeting and creating our need for more tests.