Acceptance of screening and abortion for Down syndrome among Finnish midwives and public health nurses

In this study we evaluated how well maternal serum screening and abortions for Down syndrome were accepted among midwives and public health nurses, an d compared how those who accepted and did not accept abortions for Down syn drome differed from each other. The questionnaire was mailed in 1998 to 400 midwives and 400 public health nurses. 79 per cent responded. The majority said that all pregnant women should be offered a screening test for Down s yndrome, but less than half accepted abortion for Down syndrome. Thus, the 'informative part' of the screening (serum screening itself) is supported m ore often than the 'operative part' (selective abortion)-or at least the 'o perative part' was found to be a more difficult question. We suggest that w hereas screening may be perceived as a question of more choices, informatio n and self-determination, abortion is more clearly a moral question. The pr ofessional background characteristics and attitudes of those accepting and not accepting abortion for Down syndrome were relatively similar, but havin g a midwife's education, practical involvement in serum screening and havin g patients with Down syndrome were associated with a somewhat higher percen tage of acceptance and a lower percentage of 'don't know' responses. (C) 19 99 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.