Ok, this is a tough one. Researchers have figured out a way to construct a baby's DNA before birth using a sample of the mom's blood and the dad's saliva. The procedure, which unlike other tests in existence today that can tell parents about possible genetic diseases, is not invasive and has had a 98% accuracy rate, according to research done at the University of Washington.
In essence, this procedure would allow doctors to detect thousand of genetic disorders while children are in the fetal stage. Not to mention what they will look like in terms of hair and eye color. Truly amazing, no? But it definitely raises the question: does this open the door for couples to choose to abort children for reasons that have nothing to do with genetic diseases?
Read more in ¿Qué más?: Would you abort if your baby had a genetic disease?
Although at $50,000, the test is obviously not available to most. Scientists; however, agree the cost will eventually go down. While I don't see anything wrong with parents-to-be being aware of possible genetic diseases–and then choosing to do whatever they deem appropriate in their situation–I have a HUGE problem with the possibility of this procedure allowing people to decide not to have a child based on its gender or the color of his eyes. And you and I both know that, unfortunately, there's a bunch of people out there who'd be willing and capable of doing just that.
Although some suggested that, because of my age, I should get an amniocentesis when I was pregnant the second time around, my husband and I opted against it. Although I'm pro-choice, I didn't really want to have to deal with deciding what to do depending on the results of the testing. In other words, my husband and I figured we'd just deal with whatever came our way once the baby was born.
In fact, we didn't even find out the sex of our first baby, nor did we take advantage of all the 3D and 4D ultrasounds that allow you to pretty much see exactly what your baby looks like. We decided we'd much rather wait the nine months it took to meet them!
Want to connect with other moms? Like us on Facebook!
There's no denying that these types of scientific discoveries are amazing, but the many unanswered ethical and moral questions they come with can make them a bit scary too.
Do you really want to know EVERYTHING about your child before it's born? Leave us a comment with your opinion.
Image via Thinkstock
