Persuasive Essay On Prenatal Testing

Giving birth to a child can be the most beautiful and heartwarming experience in a woman’s life. It is at that exact moment, that she and her partner will be able to see what the two of them created nine months prior. As the child exits her body, the mother could feel potential physical and emotional relieve. While pregnant, women are often advised by their healthcare providers to undergo a series of prenatal tests, to monitor the development of the fetus. In the United States of America -- a country known for its diversity-- women come from different backgrounds and their decisions to undergo prenatal testing often depends on their race, education, religion, and/or income. Prenatal testing, although put into practice to screen and diagnose any potential fetal abnormalities and defects, faces social and ethical implications and controversies.
According to Kathy Hudson, Director of the Genetics and Public Policy Center and Associate Professor in the Berman Bioethics Institute, "some observers have raised the concern that prospective parents may feel pressured to agree to prenatal genetic testing—pressure from their healthcare provider or from society at large”.1 It appears that certain people within our society, believe that giving birth to a child with abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, trisomy 18 (Edwards syndrome), sickle-cell anemia, or spina bifida is wrong and a burden to society; thus, forcing women to consider undergoing invasive prenatal tests such as amniocentesis or Chorionic villus sampling (CVS), against their personal beliefs, to determine if their fetus runs such risks. Aside from having an extra chromosome or having other medical issues, what is wrong with having a child with Down Syndrome or any other abnormality? Isn’t that child human just like the rest of