AUSTRALIA, July 16, 2003 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A new test, which may soon allow parents to genetically screen their unborn child for “abnormalities” and discover its sex just five weeks into pregnancy, offers great potential for abuse by eugenic selection of children. The test is based on the same technique as the smear test used to check women for cancer and could be performed by a GP with the results available in less than 24 hours. Current tests usually wait until 16 weeks gestation and results take three weeks to return.
Dr. Ian Findlay, a senior scientist at the Australian Genome Research Facility, who has spent five years developing the new test, excitedly proclaimed that, “What we can do is make sure, through the ease of use and low cost of our test, that everyone can have access to genetic screening, and have it far earlier than before – which, should there be any problems, is far easier on the parents.” If further clinical trials designed to prove the accuracy of the new test progress well, GPs could begin administering the test within two to three years. See Femail Health: https://www.femail.co.uk/pages/standard/article.html?in_article_id=188573&in_page_id=170