Story of Selective Abortion following Prenatal Genetic Testing

Monograph

Abstract

The objective of this research was to describe the experience of selective abortion following prenatal genetic testing in a purposive sample of parents of children with hereditary diseases in order to provide suggestions for nursing in conjunction with genetic testing during pregnancy. The study used methods adapted from hermeneutic phenomenology described by Cohen et al., including participant observations and in-depth interviews. The setting of prenatal genetic testing was observed when three couples to participate at the time after informed consent, and interviewed three times for provided one person of an agreement to participate in a study. Two major themes emerged from these interviews,: the “breakdown of ties between others”and“the realization that they had conflicting values concerning disabilities in human beings.”Based on these main themes, narrative was represented, as follows.
I. The effect of known genetic diseases
1. Discordance between couple
2. Differentiation between disabilities
3. Looking for the root of genetic disease in a family
4. Self-alimentation
II. Selecting life
1. Tentative fetal presence
2. Being torn between negation and affirmation of disabled people
3. Dealing with a dilemma: guilty feelings about forgetting the aborted child versus antipathy regarding grief work of the loss
4. Meeting with internal eugenic idea
III. Seeking to repair ties
1. The ties between the couple and the family
2. The need to lie
3. Fear that one's present suffering will again be experienced by future generations
These results suggest that nurses have to apply care to relationships with clients and their families, as well as society. Moreover, for consistent counseling and care, it is necessary for us to establish new nursing area that integrates genetic, pediatric, obstetric clinic, and the obstetric ward.