Word: fetuses
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Since then, doctors have found that with amniocentesis Mongolism can be detected in a fetus as early as the third month. With this knowledge, a doctor would be free (and legally justified) to advise the mother to abort. Since the incidence of Mongoloid children is higher in older women, some suggest that amniocentesis be routinely performed on pregnant women over 40. Others would like to see amniocentesis become a routine part of prenatal care for all women...
...only scientific problem with that idea at this point is a possible danger to the mother and to the fetus from the puncturing procedure. Undoubtedly, however, this procedure can be made as safe as the delivery of the baby...
...real problem is the chance for error that is inherent in amniocentesis. There is not only the chance that a normal fetus could possibly be incorrectly identified as being deformed, there is also a chance that doctors' and professionals' misconceptions about Mongolism may cause them to advise parents, wrongly, to destroy "the vegetable...
Amniocentesis is a process that now enables doctors to detect a certain limited number of genetic defects before birth. With the development and perfection of the technique, amniocentesis could be made widely available to determine any number of things about the fetus, including genetic defects, Rh incompatability between the fetus and the mother, and even the sex, eye color, and future height of the unborn child...
...EXAMPLE, it is well known now that female cells have two X chromosomes on the last pair. Male cells have one X and one Y. Given this information, the pregnant mother of four female children could have amniocentesis performed to determine the fetus's sex. Knowing the sex of the child in advance, the parents could decide whether or not to abort. In this way, families could maintain a balanced--or an unbalanced--male-female ratio...