LETHAL AUTONOMY - THE MALFUNCTION OF THE INFORMED CONSENT MECHANISM WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF PRENATAL-DIAGNOSIS OF GENETIC-VARIANTS

In this article, Cara Dunne and Catherine Warren challenge the current role of genetic counselors in advising expectant mothers about potent ial genetic defects of their fetuses. They show that genetic counselor s sometimes provide one-sided negative information to women undergoing prenatal diagnosis of genetic variants. This biased information promo tes abortion of what are considered ''defective'' fetuses. The mislead ing information provided by the genetic counselors and the termination of the pregnancies is akin to the eugenics movement. The authors desc ribe the early 20th century eugenics movement, explore the origin and development of the Human Genome Project, analyze the current role of g enetic counseling, and explain the importance of the informed consent process to the exercise of autonomy. Dunne and Warren conclude by offe ring methods by which to restructure the informed consent mechanism to offer a more balanced assessment of the risks and benefits associated with genetic disability.