BIOETHICS OF ABORTION OF POTENTIAL DIS-ABLED FETUSES

Introduction : As medical science evolves, questions arise regarding how high the quality of life should be, in order for this life to be preferable to non-existence. Aim: Τhe examination of bioethics around the issue of abortion of (potential) disabled fetuses. Methodology: Literature research was conducted about the topic on online databases like Medline and PubMed, the online link of Greek Academic Libraries (HEAL-Link), as well as through the search engine “Google Scholar”, and in relevant research articles, books, scientific journals and sites. Results: Through the growth of technology and the progress of medicine, a rise has been noted in the number of families the conduct a prenatal screening during pregnancy. This increased availability of prenatal tests often poses a dilemma for the parents, whether they should choose to carry and birth children that will grow up with impairment or choose to discontinue the pregnancy. The position of ‘’refusal” of treatment of disabled fetuses and their subsequent abortion has been severely criticized by the scientific community. The core of this criticism indicates practices that aim at the prevention of giving birth to children with impairments and expresses the –unconscious perhaps- wish of the greater part of the population that disabled people would not exist. Conclusions: Allowing the abortion of disabled fetuses effectively means that they are of no social value, which can in turn reinforce the practices that introduce discrimination against disabled people that live in our society