Increasingly sophisticated genetic testing available to would-be parents is likely to raise thorny ethical issues, according to a New Zealand Law Foundation report.

Lead author and Otago University bioethicist Dr Jeanne Snelling, says pregnant women now face a bewildering world of genetic testing.

She says expanded screening and testing is likely to affect not only reproductive outcomes, but also women's experiences of conception and pregnancy in the future.

"Genetic testing in the reproductive context is a particularly high-stakes endeavour," she said.

"It directly affects a woman's experience of pregnancy, and may contribute to a decision not to transfer an embryo or to terminate an established pregnancy."

The report looks at a number of rapidly-evolving genetic technologies.

They include prenatal genetic testing as early as 10 weeks into a pregnancy and preimplantation genetic testing of IVF embryos.

Dr Snelling said a common feature of all the tests was that they enabled an increasing amount of information to be gleaned, compared with traditional prenatal tests.

"All are associated with particular technical, ethical and legal challenges," she said.

The report examines the implications of new technology for women.

It considers the potential for expanded screening and testing programmes becoming more routine, and the implications for informed consent.

It also looks at concerns over the effects of extended reproductive genetic testing on people with disabilities.

Dr Snelling says there is a "common assumption" that more information is always better.

"That is not always borne out in the empirical studies of women's experiences," she said.

"One recurring theme is the pressing need to ensure women and their partners have a genuine choice to accept or decline expanded screening or testing."

NZN

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Pregnancy and the issue of genetic tests - 06-Sep-2017 - NZ ... - NZCity

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