New tests increase fetal DNA analysis

Houston -- Researchers at the Baylor School of Medicine in Houston say they are making breakthroughs in enhanced DNA testing of unborn fetuses.

Dr. Arthur Beaudet, head of the school's molecular and human genetics department, said the cutting-edge services being developed at Baylor should be able to reveal previously undetectable disorders in fetuses, the Houston Chronicle reported Saturday.

"This is the beginning of a sea change in prenatal diagnosis," the research head said. "I think it will replace current prenatal screening within five years, becoming the new test of choice for couples who want maximum information about their developing fetus."

But critics of the research have claimed such prenatal information could result in a drastic increase in the number of parents seeking abortions for children diagnosed with disorders.

"There are troublesome implications to those statistics and the new testing," Dr. Mary Mahowald, a University of Chicago ethicist, told the Chronicle. "They suggest an attitude that deems the lives of people with disabilities not worth living."

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.