Notung weighs in on pre-natal screening
Following my post yesterday, Notung has weighed in with his views about pre-natal screening for Down syndrome. The view he expresses on the underlying issue of the merits of pre-natal screening is one that would be widely accepted among both the professional communities of bioethicists and medical doctors and the general community. However, it seems that some disability advocates consider such mainstream views to be “eugenics” (a much-abused word) and to be so far beyond the pale that their advocates should be driven from their employment.
This really is a rather frightening development. No one wants to be seen to be against the rights of the disabled, so disability advocates start with a certain amount of good will and perception of having the moral high ground. This kind of good will/moral high ground can be abused, however, and we need to be vigilant about it, rather than assuming that anyone who starts with it in any particular case should be regarded as the “good guys”.
