OBJECTIVE: To examine the informed consent process

when trained language interpreters are unavailable. BACKGROUND: Ensuring sufficient patient under-standing for informed consent is especially challenging for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). While US law requires provision of competent transla-tion for LEP patients, such services are commonly unavailable. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Qualitative data was collected in 8 prenatal genetics clinics in Texas, includ-ing interviews and observations with 16 clinicians, and 30 Latina patients. Using content analysis techniques, we examined whether the basic criteria for informed consent (voluntariness, discussion of alternatives, ade-quate information, and competence) were evident for each of these patients, contrasting LEP patients wit