A legal term called Wrongful birth has been used in conjunction with the failure to use a genetic test for screening an infant. A couple has a child, the child is mis-diagnosed. Child #1 has an inherited genetic disorder. The family has Child #2 who has the seem severe condition. Family sues for lack of genetic testing. Read the blog entry from Hsien Hsien Lee here. The ethical implications are large and another point for debate. I will just address the technology and business issues at this point. I try to keep politics out of my blog.
Genetic screening will become mandatory in the near future 4-7 years. This will be caused by doctors wishing to Mitigate liability.
The active filtering of who lives and who dies will be determined by genetic tests more and more. Today technology keeps alive individuals who wouldn't be here, it also contributes to their deaths. Think of incubator's, anti-biotics etc. "Technology" in the form of sonograms combined with infanticide is one of the causes indicated by Amartya Sen for the missing 100 million Asian females.
Genetic screening is going to be a vertical market as people clamor to know more and choose how to respond. The power of life and death in all forms brings with it huge responsibility, let's hope it is used wisely and compassionately. We are on the verge of learning more about our own mortality than any other generation ever. This will shape us as never before.
