Testing for Down Syndrome in Catholic Health Care: Complicity in Eugenic Abortion | Zendy

J.G. Linn | Zendy

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Testing for Down Syndrome in Catholic Health Care: Complicity in Eugenic Abortion

Author(s) -

J.G. Linn

Publication year - 2019

Publication title -

the linacre quarterly

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.148

H-Index - 9

eISSN - 2050-8549

pISSN - 0024-3639

DOI - 10.1177/0024363919895366

Subject(s) - eugenics , complicity , abortion , health care , genetic testing , medicine , family medicine , law , psychology , pregnancy , political science , genetics , biology

Catholic healthcare institutions, physicians, and midwives routinely employ testing for Down syndrome as a part of prenatal care. This testing is an essential part of eugenic abortion and often leads to it. Catholic teaching clearly forbids such testing when undertaken with abortive intent if the baby has Down syndrome or other abnormalities. This article discusses (1) the evolution of prenatal genetic testing and abortion, (2) how this testing may involve complicity in eugenic abortion, and (3) offers proposals to avoid and end Catholic healthcare’s cooperation with this evil. Summary: This article discusses why prenatal genetic testing as practiced in many Catholic healthcare institutions is ethically problematic and then proposes solutions.

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