Aspies For Freedom

"PGD" stands for "pre-implantation genetic diagnosis". Scientists are working on PGD to identify autism.

Clinics that perform in-vitro fertilization are definitely interested in getting tests that detect genetic abnormalities and autism.  There main objective is to  make money.  A baby that is not 100% normal or in anyways exactly what the parents ordered "race, gender, eye colour" would not be considered good customer service to them.  

Often five or more embryos are implanted to give a better chance that the $10,000 per trial procedure will take.  If a multiple pregancy is sustained then the mother is given to choice to selectively abort any number of fetuses.  This seems acceptable to abort pre-selected and normal fetuses that came from pre-selected and screened embryos.  

They are interested in making money not avocating rights for disabled people.  So the future will be that rich people who can afford to have perfect babies will look down on people who are poor and have no children due to fertitiliy problems or have "defective" children.  I wonder if pre-natal testing will become a status symbol like an expenisve car.  I think twins are already becoming a status symbol.

Interesting that I am trying to do some reading on IVF now.  Some researchers have found that some eggs of young women contain abnormalities in chromosomes.  Sometimes up to 80%.  In fact, it is not know what causes infertility in some cases.  

Noone has really come up with trying to find out what environmental factors cause infertility and cancer.  ...mmmm.  As long as they can make money on treatments and testing.  

http://sharedjourney.com/articles/pgd.html

"What Conditions Can Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Detect?
Researchers can now screen specific chromosomes for certain diseases, including:

    * Chromosome X: Duchenne muscular dystrophy, Fragile X Syndrome, and Turner's Syndrome
    * Chromosome Y: Acute myeloidleukemia
    * Chromosome 13: Wilson Disease, breast cancer, ovarian cancer
    * Chromosome 15: Tay-Sach's Disease, Marfan Syndrome
    * Chromosome 16: Alpha thalassemia, Polycystic kidney disease
    * Chromosome 17: Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease
    * Chromosome 18: Pancreatic cancer, Niemann-Pick Disease
    * Chromosome 21: Down's Syndrome
    * chromosome 22: Chronic myeloid leukemia"

It is interesting to note that some people might choose to have an abortion based on the genetic test results for such ailments as breast cancer and Wilson's disease.  These have treatments.  Some of the others do not seem so terribly awful either.  Of course, I suppose no one is asking anyone with these disorders their opinions.

Someone has written a book about women defying medical advice to abort pregnancies known to be not normal.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/lm/stories/s1580421.htm

Medical obstetric advice based on perfectionist standards is not limited to perfectionism about genes. If a woman is considered by doctors or obstetricians to be in poor condition to sustain a pregnancy, due to age, obesity or medical issues, she can be refused entry to fertility programmes, effectively banned from breeding. There is a great deal of hype about the supposed lasting negative effects of being the result of an inperfect pregnancy, such as premature, small for dates, too large etc.

Yes, some women have lied about their age so that fertility clinics would accept them as patients.

Doctors have far too much power.

Might the fact that fertility clinics charge $10,000 per trial show that they are only for the wealthy.  

I actually saw a website for IVF with a Canadian doctor being quoted that prenatal testings could mean the irradication of all genetic disease.  That seems to be a fault in many doctors, seeing patients are their disease rather than as human beings.

Hmmm... I wonder if I would be excluded from fertility treatment due to AS if I needed it?   :?

I'm not sure whether I would be able to foster or adopt.