Mark Leach is an attorney with a Master's in Bioethics, focusing on health law and public contracts. His interest in bioethics concerns the issues surrounding prenatal testing and Down syndrome.

Emily Oster’s Expecting Better, Part II: Prenatal Diagnostic Testing, not new, outdated, & incomplete

In her book, Expecting Better, Emily Oster, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, writes about lessons learned while pregnant that run counter to the conventional wisdom about prenatal care. One lesson concerns prenatal genetic testing, specifically invasive diagnostic testing. But Oster's lesson is not news, is outdated, and is incomplete. Continue Reading

Emily Oster’s Expecting Better, Part I: Prenatal Screening’s Panicky Reassurance

Emily Oster is an economics professor at the University of Chicago who recently published her take on pregnancy, Expecting Better. In the promotion of the book, along with drinking during pregnancy and bed rest, prenatal testing is one of the highlighted points where Oster's book promises to buck conventional wisdom. Continue Reading

What’s your view on prenatal testing for Down syndrome?

Researchers at Standford want to know what you think about prenatal testing for Down syndrome and other genetic conditions. Continue Reading

The Best Ethical Practices for Down Syndrome Prenatal Testing

The medical journal, Prenatal Diagnosis, published this year an article titled, "The Best Ethical Practices for Clinicians and Laboratories in the Provision of Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing." Here are the highlights. Continue Reading

GONE: 150,000 fewer people with Down syndrome in the U.S.

The long-stated estimated number of people living with Down syndrome in the United States had been 400,000. This number has been reduced by almost 40 percent. Continue Reading

“Unfortunately, I have some bad news for you” about Down syndrome prenatal testing

As a companion piece to the HuffPostLive segment on Down syndrome prenatal testing (which I blogged about here), the Huffington Posts' Katherine Bindley reported on the concerns about adequate counseling. Let's look at some key quotes from that piece. Continue Reading

“Is that a man?”–HuffPostLive discusses prenatal testing for Down syndrome

Tuesday, HuffPostLive featured a discussion on prenatal testing for Down syndrome. You can watch the video at this link. Part of the discussion made me think of a very bizarre story from our past.  Continue Reading

Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening is not the Holy Grail, and it’s wrong to call it that–Part 2 of 2

In yesterday's post, I covered why it is factually wrong to call Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) the "Holy Grail" of prenatal testing. Here's why it is ethically wrong to call it that. Continue Reading

Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening is not the Holy Grail of Prenatal Testing, and it’s wrong to call it that

Last week, I asked if Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening (NIPS) is the "Holy Grail" of prenatal testing? Here's Part I of why it's not and Part II will cover why it's wrong to call it that. Continue Reading