Politics
Thursday February 8, 2007
From Eliminating Disease to Eliminating the Diseased in Canada
Proposal for Genetic Screening for All Pregnancies called “Step Towards Eugenics”
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By John-Henry Westen
OTTAWA, February 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This week the Society of
Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada (SOGC) recommended all
pregnant women to be offered non-invasive prenatal genetic screening
for fetal aneuploidy (chromosomal abnormality), with a particular
emphasis on Down's syndrome. The Catholic Organization for Life
and Family (COLF), an entity sponsored by the Canadian Conference of
Catholic Bishops and the Knights of Columbus, called the proposal “a
disturbing step towards eugenics in our society.”
The National Post reported on January 6, 2007 that according to the
executive vice president of the SOGC, this screening was being
recommended "so that a greater number of women would have the option to
terminate their pregnancies should fetal abnormalities be detected".
“Prenatal diagnosis demonstrates the positive advancements of science
when it is employed to safeguard the life and integrity of the child
and the mother, and does not place them at risk,” said COLF. “However,
for most genetic conditions that can be identified in the womb,
including fetal aneuploidy and particularly Down's syndrome, there are
no available cures or therapies that can be administered before the
child is born.”
Dr. John Shea, the medical consultant to the pro-life group Campaign
Life Coalition, told LifeSiteNews.com that in addition to the
aforementioned difficulties, prenatal testing methods such as
amniocintesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS) have a 1 in 200 and a
1 in 100 chance of being fatal for the unborn child.
Dr. Shea found particularly disturbing the statements from persons
within the medical field who describe abortion after detection of Down
Syndrome or similar handicaps, “cures” or “treatments”. “They say
they are eliminating the disease when they are eliminating the
diseased,” he said.
‘People with disabilities are a blessing for our communities,” said
COLF. “Indeed, even when they are unable to relate to us, the
disabled invite us to learn to love and to freely give of
ourselves. In their weaknesses they become witnesses of human
dignity and equality, showing us that human worth does not come from
successes, beauty or fame but from simply being created in the image of
God.”
Speaking on the subject on February 4, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI said:
"Life, which is the work of God, must not be denied to any one, not
even the smallest and defenseless newborn, and much less so when he has
serious handicaps."
COLF concluded, “In a world of limited funding, the priority should be
on research into cures and therapies for genetic diseases rather than
on tests that might be the equivalent of a death sentence.”
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