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INSIDE THE ETHICS COMMITTEE
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Inside the Ethics Committee
Wednesdays 06 - 27 Aug 2008 8.00-8.45pm
Repeated Saturdays 09 - 30 Aug 2008 10.15-11.00pm
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Wed 20 Aug 2008 (rpt. Sat 23 Aug 2008)
Programme 3 - Your Comments

Tom, a 15-month-old baby, is in foster care with a view to being placed for adoption.

He has a 50:50 chance of developing a genetic condition called Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia type 1, or MEN type 1.

The disease causes mostly benign tumours to develop in the body, especially in glands that produce hormones, such as the pancreas, adrenals or pituitary.

Symptoms can appear in childhood but more often occur in adulthood.

The local authority want Tom to be tested while he is still a baby so any prospective adoptive parents can be told whether he is likely to develop the condition or not.
"Extremely interesting programme but one felt with growing horror that the well meaning participants were heavily biased in favour of an 'ignorance is bliss' attitude.

"This seemed to be excused only by citing vague possible future emotional problems for individuals caused by the testing itself or possibly negative results from the test.

"I am unable to think of any area of life where it is better for mankind in general not to find as much data as possible by copious testing where available, genetic or otherwise.

"Deliberately supporting ignorance for some subjective ‘moral’ benefit is no substitute whatsoever for supporting knowledge for the benefit of the group as a whole.

"Implementing ignorance as general policy is always more immoral than the testing of individual children for example before they can understand the results."
Paul

"This is about equity. Surely the issue is, why is the Council asking for the test?

If it's because they know the child is at risk of developing this condition, then the genetic parent(s) must have known that it was a possibility - before they produced the child. As the current parents, the Coucil can decide to have a test or not.

"If the Council doesn't know it's a possibility, then there are no grounds for testing, since the genetic parents didn't know either.

"If it does have the test, it should make the results available, or the situation is inequitable.

"But if the Council decides not to have the test, it is still, surely, obliged to inform the parents of the possibility, or again it is dishonest and inequitable."
Patrick
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