Reactions to prenatal testing: reflection of religiosity and attitudes toward abortion and people with disabilities

To better understand factors associated with prenatal testing decisions, we asked individuals what they would do if through prenatal testing they discovered that they (or their partner) were carrying an affected fetus. Respondents were more uncertain about whether to continue the pregnancy when the fetus was diagnosed as having Down syndrome than when the fetus had spina bifida or hemophilia and less certain about continuing a fetus with spina bifida than one with hemophilia. There was modest support for the hypothesis that negative attitudes toward people with disabilities would be associated with an increased likelihood of choosing abortion. Religious affiliation was associated only with the decision concerning the fetus with hemophilia; church attendance was associated with the decisions concerning fetuses with all three diagnoses.