Abstract

This article is an ethical evaluation of two familiar views in the debate on foetal diagnosis; one being the mainstream view in medical texts emphasizing early detection of foetuses with Down´s syndrome so they may be aborted, and the other coming from Down´s syndrome activists claiming that such screening is never acceptable. The core question asked is: What ethical weaknesses in modern medical practice does this discussion reveal? I argue that the marketization of noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and the mainstream discussion in the health sector on its application shows two trends undermining the traditional ethos of medicine. Firstly, that doctors are, in their work, concentrating on diseases as isolated entities, whereas the patient and her life remains in the shadow. Secondly, the emphasis has been on the scientific foundation of medicine where the clinical evaluation of these scientific facts has not received due attention.

• Points of interest

• This article is about how we can evaluate ethically two different views on tests done on foetuses.

• It describes how some medical texts talk about tests done on foetuses to see if they have Down’s syndrome; and secondly, how some people with Down´s syndrome and their families talk about such tests.

• The medical view is criticized for failing to understand the importance of the lives of people with Down´s syndrome and for not taking their views of the value of their lives seriously.

• The medical texts focus on diseases instead of patients. Thus they tend to ignore the life and value of the person having the disease.

• The medical view is mainly about science and facts. It ignores the question of whether and how these facts matter for the patient.

• People with Down´s syndrome and their families have criticized this medical approach. Their criticism is very important.

摘要

本文是对胎儿诊断辩论中两种常见观点的伦理评价；一种是医学文献中的主流观点，强调早期发现患有唐氏综合症的胎儿，因此他们可能会被流产，另一种来自唐氏综合症活动家，声称这种筛查是绝对不可接受的。提出的核心问题是：这次讨论揭示了现代医学实践中的哪些伦理缺陷？我认为，无创产前检测 (NIPT) 的市场化和卫生部门对其应用的主流讨论显示出两种趋势，破坏了传统的医学精神。首先，医生在工作中将疾病视为孤立的实体，而患者和她的生命仍然处于阴影中。第二，

• 兴趣点

• 这篇文章是关于我们如何在道德上评估对胎儿进行的测试的两种不同观点。

• 它描述了一些医学文献如何谈论对胎儿进行的检查，看看他们是否患有唐氏综合症；其次，一些患有唐氏综合症的人及其家人如何谈论此类测试。

• 医学观点因未能理解唐氏综合症患者生命的重要性以及没有认真对待他们对生命价值的看法而受到批评。

• 医学文本侧重于疾病而不是患者。因此，他们往往会忽视患病者的生命和价值。

• 医学观点主要是关于科学和事实的。它忽略了这些事实是否以及如何对患者重要的问题。

• 患有唐氏综合症的人及其家人批评了这种医疗方法。他们的批评非常重要。