Chicago Injury Law Blog

Having a baby is a joyous experience. Every mother wants their child to be healthy. Imagine a mother's consternation in the realization that her baby has Down Syndrome. And imagine her reaction when she is informed that she has the power of prevention.

Previously, only women over 35 had amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling tests in addition to the typical blood test and ultrasound for detection of the disease. This precaution for older women is associated with higher risk of having babies that test positive for Down's.

To provide mothers with the option of prevention, new guidelines published in January by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG) urge all women to have the same comprehensive tests at their 20th week or earlier. Before the amendment, younger mothers were only screened at their 20th week with blood tests.

The new guidelines are mostly advantageous. The new tests are more accurate and give mothers more time to decide what to do. However, they also carry a slight risk of miscarriage, and about 80% of women who test positive for Down's have abortions. The latter statistic is particularly unsettling to advocates of Americans with the genetic disease.

In addition, caution must also be exercised in believing the doctor's statistics. In their zeal to catch Down syndrome early in the mother's pregnancy, many Arizona clinics have cited a figure that as many as one in four  40 year olds has a baby with the disease. Rather, academic research suggests the number is one in one hundred.

For more information, see www.economist.com/world/na/displaystory.cfm

Oops, you might want to look up some more information on this subject. First of all, it's Down syndrome, no 's, named for one of the scientists who first made the connection between the various markers that make up Down syndrome. Second, it's not a genetic disease, it is a syndrome. It is an anomoly, with only one fairly rare form having any genetic component. That said, I have a daughter with Down syndrome; I chose not to have any testing done prenatally because I knew I wouldn't choose to abort either way. However, I have had an abortion under other circumstances, and fully embrace a woman's right to decide to choose that option. I only ask that she be fully informed of the risks and choices. CJ

Thank you for the comment for the correction. That was a mistake on my part for the s.

However, from what I know of Down syndrome, it IS a genetic disease/disorder, and it usually occurs when something goes wrong during meiosis and the baby ends up with three copies of chromosome 21. However, correct me if I'm wrong.

Thank you for your comment!

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/medicine/assist.shtml