{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,5]],"date-time":"2026-03-05T20:52:10Z","timestamp":1772743930828,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":16,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"4","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Clin Pathol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,4]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                  <jats:bold>Background:<\/jats:bold> Screening for Down\u2019s syndrome forms part of routine obstetric practice. Ethical considerations relating to genetic screening form a major part of the workload of research ethics committees. This study investigated the attitudes of research ethics committee members to several conditions varying in clinical severity and prognosis, including Down\u2019s syndrome.<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>\n                  <jats:bold>Methods:<\/jats:bold> The members of 40 randomly chosen research ethics committees were surveyed. A simple questionnaire comprising 19 clinical scenarios based around four \u201cclinical\u201d conditions was designed to review conditions that were potentially embarrassing, affecting life span but not mental ability, premature death, and intellectual impairment with a risk of neonatal cardiac defects (Down\u2019s syndrome). Screening tests with different degrees of effectiveness were described and the diagnostic test descriptions ranged from having no risk to an unaffected fetus to causing spontaneous abortion of two normal fetuses for each affected fetus identified. Replies were graded on a scale of 1 to 5.<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>\n                  <jats:bold>Results:<\/jats:bold> Seventy seven replies were received from 28 different research ethics committees. Screening was supported for treatment of a life threatening condition (95% in favour) but screening for conditions of a slight increase in premature death (14% in favour) or cosmetic features (10% in favour) were considered unethical. Views were ambiguous (49% in favour) about conditions involving significant shortening of lifespan. Down\u2019s syndrome screening was considered more ethical when described as a serious condition (56% in favour) than when the clinical features were described (44% in favour). Once increased rates of spontaneous abortion on confirmatory testing were added, 79% (21% in favour) and 86% (14% in favour) stated that screening was unethical (for \u201cserious\u201d and \u201cclinical features\u201d descriptions, respectively).<\/jats:p>\n               <jats:p>\n                  <jats:bold>Conclusions:<\/jats:bold> Down\u2019s syndrome screening raises ethical concerns about genetic testing in general that need to be dealt with before the introduction of any prenatal screening test.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/jcp.56.4.268","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2003,3,27]],"date-time":"2003-03-27T13:45:20Z","timestamp":1048772720000},"page":"268-270","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Down\u2019s syndrome screening is unethical: views of today\u2019s research ethics committees: \n            Table 1"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"56","author":[{"given":"T M","family":"Reynolds","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2003,4,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"883","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.297.6653.883","volume":"297","year":"1988","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.2","unstructured":"Department of Health: National Screening Committee. Draft standards for antenatal screening including specific standards for Down syndrome screening. London: Department of Health, 2002."},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1067","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(97)10038-7","volume":"46","year":"1998","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.4","unstructured":"Boston S. Give Down\u2019s babies a chance. BMA News Review 1994;August:34."},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.5","unstructured":"Boston S. Too deep for tears: eighteen years after the death of Will, my son. London: Rivers Oram Press, 1994."},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"725","DOI":"10.1016\/0277-9536(87)90109-2","volume":"24","year":"1987","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"627","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(00)00365-8","volume":"53","year":"2001","journal-title":"Soc Sci Med"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.8","first-page":"736","volume":"50","year":"2001","journal-title":"Prax Kinderpsychol Kinderpsychiatr"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1352\/0895-8017(2000)105<0001:RTPTRO>2.0.CO;2"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pd.1970090202"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2190\/TGDE-KMAP-6JYG-0T8N"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1016680425337"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0029-7844(00)00969-8"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"521","DOI":"10.1089\/jwh.1.1999.8.521","volume":"8","year":"1999","journal-title":"J Womens Health Gend Based Med"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.15","first-page":"20","volume":"134","year":"1998","journal-title":"Bull Med Ethics"},{"key":"2025092504275543000_56.4.268.16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1467-8519.00083"}],"container-title":["Journal of Clinical Pathology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/jcp.56.4.268","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,25]],"date-time":"2025-09-25T11:28:06Z","timestamp":1758799686000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/jcp.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/jcp.56.4.268"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2003,4]]},"references-count":16,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2003,4,1]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2003,4]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/jcp.56.4.268"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/jcp.56.4.268","relation":{},"ISSN":["0021-9746","1472-4146"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0021-9746","type":"print"},{"value":"1472-4146","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2003,4]]}}}