Read more
Prenatal testing for genetic abnormalities has transformed pregnancy and motherhood. Using sociological research, this book analyzes the social-psychological and ethical implications of invasive prenatal testing, particularly CVS and amniocentesis. Among the issues covered are changes in the genetic counseling profession and in client demographics; the challenge of nondirective genetic counseling; decisions on testing and on which test to have; the timing and risks of the procedures; abortion and grief; the ethics of sex selection; potential uses and abuses of genetic knowledge; and policy and ethical implications.
List of contents
Foreword by Arthur L. Caplan
The Social Construction of Pregnancy
The Procedures
The Ethos of Nondirectiveness
The Genetic Counseling Session
Amniocentesis: The Early Years
Who Uses Prenatal Diagnosis Today
Assessing the Risks
Attitudes about Abortion
Abnormal Diagnosis and Termination
Fetal Sex Identification
Prenatal Testing and Competing Social Goals
Appendices
References
Index
About the author
ALIZA KOLKER is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at George Mason University. She is the author or editor of three previous books on health and policy issues.
MEREDITH BURKE, a consulting demographer to major donor agencies overseas, has taught health and demographic policy courses at several universities. Formerly with the international division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she was a visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, 1996-7. She has published extensively in professional journals and in the news media about genetics, health care and policy issues.
