Choice is a fundamentally human quality. Not just epic or major decisions either. Beyond free will and religious notions of choice, there is a quality contained within the simple, everyday decision process that defines our lives as human beings; which sandwich to order, the best route to take home, what station to listen to. These little determinations result in the greater patchwork of our daily lives and histories.
But decisions are more than the sum of our choices. Children from a very young age begin to realize notions of consequence for their actions and decisions. The bible too notes that free will alone separates us from a divine plan, but that our freedom to do good or evil will result in punishment or reward. The same free choices that give us liberty can harbor immense results in this life and, according to some, the one thereafter.
These days we have more decision making power than ever before. Our notions of consequence are infinitely more informed than those of our ancestors. Most recently the incredible advances in genetic testing have extended this power. Genetic and prenatal tests can now determine likelihood that a child will be born with a birth defect, chromosome abnormalities, genetic diseases and other conditions, such as spina bifida, cleft palate, Tay Sachs disease, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, cystic fibrosis, and fragile x syndrome.
Pregnant parents who undergo prenatal testing are then at a major decision making crossroads, if doctors or genetic testers inform them that a child is predisposed to such conditions. Should they view this as a challenge or burden, a responsibility they have acquired for better or worse, or should they abort the fetus entirely?
Obviously this quandary gives rise to the ethical debates similar of Roe vs. Wade and pro-choice vs. pro-life, but let’s evade those issues entirely and for the moment focus elsewhere.
The ethical dilemma concerning prenatal testing sidesteps the pro-life, pro-choice question and begets one equally complex and challenging. Fundamentally, the abortion debate questions one’s right to choose whether or not to have a child, but prenatal testing grants would be parents another choice: What kind of child to have.
When a woman opts to abort a fetus, we generally perceive that choice as being a symptom of the fact that she does not desire a child at the time. But parents who opt to abort because they have been told their child might be born with a defect are making judgments beyond their immediate offspring. Such parents might be said to have judged that certain human lives more valuable than others and that the sick or handicapped are less deserving of life.
These considerations ring eerily reminiscent of the eugenicists who believed that human hereditary traits could be altered by controlling (sometimes forcibly) reproduction within the population. Terrifyingly, eugenics was first successfully practiced within the United States on 30,000 prisoners who were deemed unfit to reproduce. Hitler and the Nazi party, influenced by eugenics, overtly shared the belief that certain human lives are more valuable than others. In 1934 the party enacted the “sterilization law” under which between 300,000 and 400,000 people deemed “feebleminded” were sterilized through vasectomy or litigation of ovarian tubes in women. The victims of this heinous policy were not blanket racial or ethnic groups, but the infirm, handicapped and mentally disabled. While advocates of prenatal testing are only gauging their immediate offspring’s right to life, the practice is philosophically evocative of eugenicists nonetheless.
Consider also the testing methods and scientific accuracy of prenatal testing in general. The prenatally administered Quad test is hardly 100% accurate; in fact it has a 5% false positive rate. Many mothers informed that their fetus is at high risk for Down syndrome or other genetic illnesses suffer undue stress and anxiety from false results. Stress is thought to be a high contributing factor in miscarriages and should certainly be avoided during pregnancy.
Steven Spielberg’s 2002 sci-fi film “Minority Report” deals with questions of premonition that are food for thought when considering prenatal testing’s accuracy. In the film a pair of “precogs” are responsible for predicting “precrime”, criminal acts that have yet to take place. A specialized police force then arrests individuals based upon their, unrealized, prophecy. The films central themes of freewill vs. determinism are philosophical fodder in assessing prenatal testing. Does a doctor’s scientific premonition is some way alter the course of events? We already know that prenatal testing isn’t entirely accurate, so is being aware of a possible fetal defect a terrible form of determinism?
Ultimately, no one right of mind would ever claim that being concerned for the welfare of an unborn child is somehow wrong. But claiming that certain lives are preferable to others is frightening nevertheless. Still, we should perhaps celebrate the evolution of decisions beyond: that each of us will have to be judged on his or her own merits accordingly.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your health care provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care an appropriate health care provider.
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Genetic Counseling India
If you and your partner are newly pregnant, you may be amazed at the number and variety of prenatal tests available to you. Blood tests, urine tests, monthly medical exams, diet questionnaires, and family history tracking — each helps to assess the health of you and your baby, and to predict any potential health risks.
Unlike your parents, you may also have the option of genetic testing. These tests identify the likelihood of passing certain genetic diseases or disorders (those caused by a defect in the genes — the tiny, DNA-containing units of heredity that determine the characteristics and functioning of the entire body) to your children.
Some of the more familiar genetic disorders are : -
Down syndrome Cystic fibrosis Sickle cell disease Tay-Sachs disease (a fatal disease affecting the central nervous system)
spina bifida…
What Is Genetic Counseling ?
Genetic counseling is the process of : -
Evaluating family history and medical records Ordering genetic tests Evaluating the results of this investigation Helping parents understand and reach decisions about what to do next
Genetic tests are done by analyzing small samples of blood or body tissues. They determine whether you, your partner, or your baby carry genes for certain inherited disorders….
What are Genes ?
Humans have 46 chromosomes, arranged in pairs in every living cell of our bodies. When the egg and sperm join at conception, half of each chromosomal pair is inherited from each parent. This newly formed combination of chromosomes then copies itself again and again during fetal growth and development, passing identical genetic information to each new cell in the growing fetus.
Current science suggests that human chromosomes carry from 25,000 to 35,000 genes. An error in just one gene (and in some instances, even the alteration of a single piece of DNA) can sometimes be the cause for a serious medical condition….
About Genetic Counselors
Genetic counselors are professionals who have completed a master’s program in medical genetics and counseling skills. They then pass a certification exam administered by the American Board of Genetic Counseling….
Please log on to : www.indiahospitaltour.com
Send your query : Get a Quote
We Care Core Values
We have a very simple business model that keeps you as the centre.
Having the industry’s most elaborate and exclusive Patient Care and Clinical Coordination teams stationed at each partner hospital, we provide you the smoothest and seamless care ever imagined. With a ratio of one Patient Care Manager to five patients our patient care standards are unmatched across the sub continent.
Welcome to World Class Treatment and Surgery by We Care Health Services, India.
Contact Us :
www.indiasurgerytour.com ||
E-mail us on : info@indiahospitaltour.com ||
Contact Center Tel. 
+91) 22 28950588 / (+91) 22 28941902 (24 hrs.)
The surgery and medical treatments offered by We Care Health Services at JCI Accredited / ISO Certified Hospitals are vast and varied; ranging from Heart Surgery in India, Cardiology to Cardio Thoracic surgery, Total Knee / Hip / Ankle / Shoulder Joint Replacement Surgery in India including ACL reconstruction Surgery to Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Surgery in India , Spine Surgery in India like Discectomy / Laminectomy Surgery, Cervical Decompression to Anterior / Posterior Spinal Fusion Surgery in India, Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Cancer surgery, Sterotactic Radiotherapy, Autologous / Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant Surgery to Breast Cancer treatments, Near relative Kidney Transplant Surgery to Dialysis and Kidney Biopsy, Low Cost Liver Transplants Surgery, Hysterectomy (Vaginal / Abdominal) to Ovarian Cystectomy, Hernia repair Surgery to Cholecystectomy, Advanced Neurosurgery in India, Bariatric surgery, Gastric Bypass Surgery in India, Eye Surgery in India, Cornea Transplant, Cataract Surgery to LASIK Eye care Surgery, IVF, ICSI, Egg Donor to Surrogacy, Minimally Invasive surgery or Laparoscopic Surgery to Cochlear Implants, Breast Lift / Tummy Tuck, Face Lift to Low Cost Rhinoplasty Cosmetic Surgery, multi specialty Hospitals in India offering first world treatments with board certified highly qualified medical consultants in attendance at third world prices..
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Genetic Counseling India
Genetic Counseling
If you and your partner are newly pregnant, you may be amazed at the number and variety of prenatal tests available to you. Blood tests, urine tests, monthly medical exams, diet questionnaires, and family history tracking — each helps to assess the health of you and your baby, and to predict any potential health risks.
Unlike your parents, you may also have the option of genetic testing. These tests identify the likelihood of passing certain genetic diseases or disorders (those caused by a defect in the genes — the tiny, DNA-containing units of heredity that determine the characteristics and functioning of the entire body) to your children.
Some of the more familiar genetic disorders are : -
Down syndrome Cystic fibrosis Sickle cell disease Tay-Sachs disease (a fatal disease affecting the central nervous system)
spina bifida…
What Is Genetic Counseling ?
Genetic counseling is the process of : -
Evaluating family history and medical records Ordering genetic tests Evaluating the results of this investigation Helping parents understand and reach decisions about what to do next
Genetic tests are done by analyzing small samples of blood or body tissues. They determine whether you, your partner, or your baby carry genes for certain inherited disorders….
What are Genes ?
Humans have 46 chromosomes, arranged in pairs in every living cell of our bodies. When the egg and sperm join at conception, half of each chromosomal pair is inherited from each parent. This newly formed combination of chromosomes then copies itself again and again during fetal growth and development, passing identical genetic information to each new cell in the growing fetus.
Current science suggests that human chromosomes carry from 25,000 to 35,000 genes. An error in just one gene (and in some instances, even the alteration of a single piece of DNA) can sometimes be the cause for a serious medical condition….
About Genetic Counselors
Genetic counselors are professionals who have completed a master’s program in medical genetics and counseling skills. They then pass a certification exam administered by the American Board of Genetic Counseling….
Please log on to : www.indiahospitaltour.com
Send your query : Get a Quote
We Care Core Values
We have a very simple business model that keeps you as the centre.
Having the industry’s most elaborate and exclusive Patient Care and Clinical Coordination teams stationed at each partner hospital, we provide you the smoothest and seamless care ever imagined. With a ratio of one Patient Care Manager to five patients our patient care standards are unmatched across the sub continent.
Welcome to World Class Treatment and Surgery by We Care Health Services, India.
Contact Us :
www.indiasurgerytour.com ||
E-mail us on : info@indiahospitaltour.com ||
Contact Center Tel. +91) 22 28950588 / (+91) 22 28941902 (24 hrs.)
The surgery and medical treatments offered by We Care Health Services at JCI Accredited / ISO Certified Hospitals are vast and varied; ranging from Heart Surgery abroad, Cardiology to Cardio Thoracic surgery, Total Knee / Hip / Ankle / Shoulder Joint Replacement Surgery abroad in India including ACL reconstruction Surgery to Birmingham Hip Resurfacing Surgery abroad in India , Spine Surgery abroad in India like Discectomy / Laminectomy Surgery, Cervical Decompression to Anterior / Posterior Spinal Fusion Surgery abroad, Chemotherapy, Radiotherapy, Cancer surgery, Sterotactic Radiotherapy, Autologous / Allogenic Bone Marrow Transplant Surgery to Breast Cancer treatments, Kidney Transplant Surgery, Low Cost Liver Transplants Surgery, Hysterectomy (Vaginal / Abdominal), Hernia repair Surgery, Advanced Neurosurgery abroad in India, Bariatric surgery, Gastric Bypass Surgery abroad, Eye Surgery abroad, Cornea Transplant, Cataract Surgery to LASIK Eye care Surgery, IVF, ICSI, Egg Donor to Surrogacy, Minimally Invasive surgery or Laparoscopic Surgery to Cochlear Implants, Breast Lift / Tummy Tuck, Face Lift to Low Cost Cosmetic Surgery, multi specialty Hospitals abroad offering first world treatments with board certified highly qualified medical consultants in attendance at third world prices.
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The American College of Medical Genetics and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology have recently recommended that all couples of reproductive age who are attempting to conceive be offered pre-conceptual genetic testing. The purpose of this testing is to identify those couples who are carriers of a variety of conditions that could affect their children. Testing potential parents for genetic diseases is not a novel concept, but recent advances in technology have made testing simple, painless, and affordable.
“Carriers” of genetic diseases do not actually have the disorder themselves; rather one of their genes has a mutation, genetic change, associated with the disorder. The concern is that carriers can unknowingly pass this abnormal gene on to their children. The most common genetic disorders, such as Sickle Cell Anemia, Tay Sachs Disease, and Cystic Fibrosis are called “autosomal recessive” diseases. In order to actually have an autosomal recessive disease, a person needs to have inherited two abnormal genes, one from each parent.
In order to understand this concept, let’s look at Sickle Cell Anemia, a life threatening disease caused by abnormal hemoglobin. Each parent has 2 genes for hemoglobin – the important oxygen-carrying molecule in a red blood cell. All cells in the body – with the exception of sperm and eggs – carry 2 genes. Sperm and eggs carry only 1 of those 2 genes, and the one that they carry is determined at random. When fertilization occurs, the embryo gets one copy of the gene from each parent, i.e. one from the sperm and one from the egg. If each parent has two copies of the normal hemoglobin A gene, all of their sperm or eggs will be normal and their children will neither have Sickle Cell Disease nor will they be carriers. If one parent has one hemoglobin A gene and one hemoglobin S gene (the gene that causes Sickle Cell Anemia), each sperm or egg has a 50% chance of carrying the A gene and a 50% chance of carrying the S gene. Embryos that carry one S gene develop into children who are carriers. Therefore, in theory, 50% of children born to a carrier will be carriers for Sickle Cell disease.
If both parents are carriers, each embryo has a 25% chance of inheriting 2 A genes (i.e. those children will be normal), a 25% chance of inheriting 2 S genes (i.e. those children will have the disease), and a 50% chance of inheriting 1 A gene and 1 S gene (i.e. those children will be carriers).
Pre-conceptual testing is the only way to know if your children have an increased risk of inheriting a genetic disorder. Until recently, this could only be accomplished through the performance of individualized genetic tests, a very expensive and complicated process akin to looking for a needle in a haystack. Due to tremendous advances in genetic science, two new types of genetic testing are now available. One involves the collection of saliva from each partner. Each sample can be screened for over 109 different autosomal recessive genetic disorders for a reasonable fee. If only one partner is found to carry the gene for an autosomal recessive disorder, there is no chance that the couple’s children can actually have the disease in question; the worst outcome possible would be that a child could be an asymptomatic carrier of the abnormal gene – just like the affected parent. The primary advantages of this particular test are that it is performed on saliva rather than blood, it screens for a large number of diseases very efficiently, and it is relatively inexpensive.
The other type of test actually looks at pieces of genes, rather than whole genes or chromosomes. Through the testing of tissue obtained from either a cheek swab or blood from each partner, 200,000-300,000 small DNA fragments representing pieces of each known gene can be evaluated. When an embryo is produced from in vitro fertilization, the DNA from each embryo can be evaluated and matched to the samples from the parents. Not only can this testing determine whether each embryo has the normal number of chromosomes, but in addition the source of any identified genetic abnormality can be accurately identified. In other words, in the event that an embryo turns out to be chromosomally abnormal, this testing can determine whether the abnormality came from the egg or from the sperm. This is very helpful in cases of recurrent miscarriage or in cases of repetitive in vitro fertilization failure when couples are struggling to determine whether they should continue to proceed with treatment using their own gametes or whether they should consider using either donor sperm or donor oocytes.
These two exciting new technologies represent a major advance in the field of genetics and offer our patients even greater hope for achieving their dream of a healthy family.
For more information visit http://www.txfertilty.com
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Dr. Kaylen Silverberg received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt and attended medical school at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his Obstetrics & Gynecology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and his infertility fellowship at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio. Dr. Silverberg is actively involved in infertility research and has published extensively in the infertility literature. He was recently honored by the American Fertility Association with their National Family Building Award, and he is recognized annually by the Best Doctors in America, Best Doctors in Texas, and Best Doctors in Austin. Dr. Silverberg is Board Certified in both Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology.
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Some good things about genetic testing are the ability to find out if you carry a specific gene or if you have a gene that will result in a genetic disorder in the future. Some of the conditions diagnosed by genetic testing are cystic fibrosis, Huntington disease and Down syndrome. This has become a normal procedure done with pregnant women and both parents even before conception.
Parents can be screened before deciding to have children and find out if they are a carrier of a specific gene, but doctors need to be aware of all the different ethnic groups and what to look for when any genetic testing is done. Some good things about genetic testing before conception are, you can find out if you have any specific genetic disorders and if there is a chance of passing it on to your child.
When two people who want to have children carry the same gene, they may half to make a decision about having a family a different way. The conditions diagnosed by genetic testing allow doctors to inform perspective parents if both have a gene that could cause a genetic disorder in a child. If both parents have the same gene, the child will more than likely be born with the disorder not as a carrier as they would if only one parent had the gene. For more info see http://www.geneticdnatestinghelp.org/paternity/dna-paternity-test.html
Some adoptive parents want genetic testing done on newborns and children before the adoption goes through to make sure they are completely healthy with no genetic disorders that could affect their health. This brings up some controversy about such a practice. Conditions diagnosed by genetic testing may leave some children without homes and parents because they have a specific gene or a specific genetic disorder.
There are some good things about genetic testing, but when used in for this purpose has raised questions by adoption agencies about whether parents should have a guarantee or not. When you conceive a baby, you have no idea about the health at this time so why should you when adopting. The ability to select a baby with by genetic testing defies nature. All children need homes, and if genetic testing before adoption ever becomes a regular occurrence, can you imagine all the children that will never know love and have a family to share their life with.
There many conditions diagnosed with genetic testing and this is good for the future of the world, but is good for everything and in every case. I believe genetic testing for both parents is a wonderful idea, it gives them a choice to have children or not, but in some cases, genetic testing may hurt the population if proper guidelines for testing are not put into place.
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