Abstract
As measured in two recent national surveys, public attitudes toward prenatal genetic testing are overwhelmingly favorable, and attitudes toward genetic testing in general are also predominantly favorable on both surveys. Unlike genetic testing, however, abortion in case of fetal defect is endorsed by only a minority of both samples.
The unreliability of the scales used to measure these attitudes in both surveys suggests that attitudes toward fetal diagnosis and genetic testing have not yet crystallized. In part, this unreliability undoubtedly reflects the nature and number of the questions asked; but in part the low reliability of the scale seems to reflect the novel subject matter and the public's lack of familiarity with it.
At present, attitudes toward prenatal diagnosis and testing appear to be distinct from attitudes toward abortion and the termination of life. But attitudes toward prenatal testing predict attitudes toward the termination of life, and vice versa. Thus, as the public becomes more knowledgeable about the new technology and its implications, there is at least the potential for these two attitudes to become more closely linked in the future.
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This study was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. I would like to acknowledge the help of my research assistants, Cydnee Blattner aned George Shambaugh, and Marc B. Glassman, for statistical consultation.
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Singer, E. Public attitudes toward fetal diagnosis and the termination of life. Soc Indic Res 28, 117–136 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01079654
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01079654