Ethical Implications of NIPT in the Netherlands

Prenatal screening for aneuploidy is a controversial procedure that raises a number of important ethical issues; some of which are related to the methods in general such as the safety of the mother and foetus, and others to a more societal point of view such as autonomy of pregnant women or the possibility of discrimination towards people with aneuploidy. These moral implications are of great importance for future policymakers to gain a broader understanding on this delicate matter. This is needed as the Dutch government plans on adding a new non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) to the basic healthcare, with the goal to offer the test to women of all ages free of cost. NIPT seems to facilitate selective abortion, giving prospective parents the choice of giving birth to a child with abnormalities or not. Persons with aneuploidy might get offended by this, as it may strengthen the belief that life with aneuploidy is not worth living. From a different perspective, pregnant women can get more information of their unborn child at an earlier stage in pregnancy than before which will greatly increasing the possibility of informed decision making. But the state might be pushing this too much, with the possibility of making women feel obligated to take the test. As more nations start to include NIPT in their basic healthcare, it is important for society to understand what kind of fundamental issues we are dealing with by offering this test on such a large scale. The right policies have to be made to prevent sending out the wrong message