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The case against preadoption genetic testing
1Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, New York, NY, USA.
Insights
Predictive genetic testing for children before adoption is increasingly requested but raises significant ethical concerns. Ethical analysis strongly advises against using genetic tests solely for adoption evaluations.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Adoption Policy
- Genetic Testing
Background:
- Growing interest in pre-adoption genetic information for prospective families.
- Use of predictive genetic testing for healthy children is proposed to inform adoption decisions.
- This practice introduces complex ethical issues impacting adoption policy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the ethical implications of predictive genetic testing for children undergoing adoption.
- To evaluate the medical and psychosocial benefits and risks associated with such testing.
- To inform adoption policy and practice regarding genetic information.
Main Methods:
- Ethical analysis framework.
- Review of medical and psychosocial factors.
- Consideration of implications for adoption policy.
Main Results:
- Predictive genetic testing for adoption raises substantial ethical challenges.
- Balancing potential benefits against significant risks is crucial.
- Current ethical considerations do not support testing solely for adoption purposes.
Conclusions:
- Ethical considerations strongly caution against predictive genetic testing solely for adoption evaluations.
- The potential harms and ethical complexities outweigh the purported benefits in this context.
- Adoption policies should carefully consider the ethical ramifications of genetic information.
Abstract:
Adoption professionals and prospective adoptive families have become increasingly interested in obtaining genetic information on children prior to adoption. Predictive genetic testing of apparently healthy children has been urged as a way of generating information about children's future health and assisting families in deciding whether to adopt. Such genetic testing of children, however, raises a host of ethical issues with important implications for adoption policy and practice. The medical and psychosocial benefits and risks of predictive testing provide the context for analyzing the ethics of such testing. Ethical considerations strongly counsel against predictive genetic testing solely for purposes of evaluating a child for adoption.