Testing Early in Pregnancy

The Roman Catholic tradition has set strong precedents regarding the practice of abortion. The precedent against aborting the unborn is clear from the Second Vatican Council: “. . . from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care, while abortion and infanticide are unspeakable crimes.”The challenge to ethicists in the Roman Catholic tradition in the near future will be to examine what transpires at the preimplantation stage of the embryo (or pre-embryo) to determine if the word “abortion” applies. If it does, this may lead to recommending that genetic screening be pushed back one step further, to the gamete stage prior to fertilization. The genetic make-up of sperm and ovum could be screened separately, using acceptable gametes and discarding the unacceptable. The Catholic Health Association of the United States pushes back a step further by recommending the development of techniques of gonadal cell therapy to make genetic corrections in the reproductive tissues of prospective parents long before conception takes place—that is, gametocyte therapy.Other issues, such as the criteria for genetic acceptability still remain,  but the problem of post-conception abortion may be solved in this way.

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