tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6160916.post2056164347723163683..comments2024-03-06T04:31:53.093+11:00Comments on Just in CASE: Prenatal Genetic Testing: A pandora's box?Trevor Cairneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10743409298855125040noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6160916.post-54381773448074832152009-06-13T11:36:57.769+10:002009-06-13T11:36:57.769+10:00Hi Greg, thanks (as always) for your insightful an...Hi Greg, thanks (as always) for your insightful and thoughtful comments. Thanks also for sharing your personal experiences which I'm sure would be helpful for readers of the blog. I praise God for Isaac and for God's sovereignty in the midst of the decisions that you made at the time. In relation to your comment about whether you would make similar decisions now in relation to testing, I'd add that one of the tough things about life (from personal experience) is that sometimes wisdom is the outcome of our mistakes, not just right choices (as in your case). But God in his grace, mercy and kindness can use even the wrong decisions we make for his purposes. Thanks a lot, TrevorTrevor Cairneyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10743409298855125040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6160916.post-40932391567526725172009-06-11T14:04:44.985+10:002009-06-11T14:04:44.985+10:00Thanks for this post, Trevor. Children are indeed ...Thanks for this post, Trevor. Children are indeed one of God’s greatest blessings.<br /><br />I can relate somewhat to your experience. When my wife was pregnant with our second child, we had the “standard” pre-natal tests. One of these showed that there was a relatively high probability that the baby would be born with Down Syndrome. We were advised that an amniocentesis, an invasive procedure which itself occasionally causes the death of the child, was the most effective way of determining whether our baby had Down Syndrome or not. After much soul-searching, we decided to have it done. Our reasoning at the time was that it would have been extremely difficult – emotionally and otherwise – for us to have continued for several months in a state of not knowing: we simply had to know, one way or the other. Our other main reason was that if the diagnosis had been confirmed, we would have been able to spend the next several months preparing, emotionally and practically, for the extra challenges of caring for a child with Down Syndrome – to be able to “hit the ground running”, in other words. As it turned out, the amniocentesis indicated that our baby was “normal”, and in due course we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. <br /><br />In no way am I suggesting that our decision (to have the amniocentesis performed, or any pre-natal testing at all for that matter) was necessarily the right one, or that our decision-making process can be seen as a model in any sense. I should also say that my thinking on ethical and other issues has changed considerably in the nearly nine years since then. Faced with the same situation today, I really can’t say what we would decide. I should point out, however, that we never for a moment considered termination to be an option: our reasons for wanting to know in advance were to do with, on the one hand, relieving our mental anguish, and on the other, being able to put ourselves in the best possible position to welcome our baby. <br /><br />I suppose my view is that, like most tools, pre-natal testing can be used well or badly: for good or ill. In today’s climate of mania for physical perfection, partly driven by the often inane doings of those whose careers depend on their looks, perhaps the danger is that the desire to have “designer” babies will sometimes override much more important ethical issues. When Jesus welcomed the little children, and rebuked those who tried to hinder them, we can be confident that he didn’t mean only the potential beauty queens, super athletes and Mensa IQs. Perhaps our challenge, as individuals and as a society, is to be similarly welcoming, as against having an expectation that children will correspond to some preconceived notion of perfection, or even “normality”.<br /> <br /><br />Regards,<br /><br />GregGreg Thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03516178577146775301noreply@blogger.com