Socio-ethical issues of prenatal testing, a content analysis of patient and trade literature

grantor: University of TorontoWomen require accurate information about the benefits and harms of prenatal testing in order to determine what is in their best interests, and the best interests of the unborn fetus they are carrying, or hope to carry in cases of assisted reproduction. When the tests are inaccurate, or women are being misinformed about the purposes of various screens and tests, healthy, wanted fetuses could be aborted; and unhealthy fetuses, who might have been aborted with accurate information, are born. Misinformation, or a lack of information, undermines a woman's right to make decisions about her own life. There are also wider moral implications of any decision made with respect to prenatal testing. If she had access to information on how her decision impacts society at large, she may make another decision. This thesis explores whether enough printed information on prenatal testing is provided to individual women offered testing.M.A