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Genetic Dilemmas: Reproductive Technology, Parental Choices, and Children's Futures, by Dena Davis. London: Routledge, 2000. 224 pp. $22.95.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2002

Jeffrey R. Botkin
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics and Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Medical Ethics at the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City

Abstract

Imagine a genetic counselor working with a young couple pregnant with their first child. The explosion of genetic knowledge and technology in recent years is complicating this professional relationship as a host of new choices brings a few clients with atypical needs. This couple is deaf. They seek not to avoid a child with their disability but rather to assure that the child too will be deaf—a child to share their culture and perspectives on the world. If prenatal diagnosis indicates that the prospective child would be hearing, they intend to terminate the pregnancy and try again. So, how should the counselor respond to this request for services? Does a traditional deference to parental autonomy in reproductive matters require that we respect such decisions by informed couples? More broadly, what are the concepts by which society will guide policy in this new and sensitive domain?

Type
BOOK REVIEW
Copyright
© 2002 Cambridge University Press

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