{"id":882,"date":"2016-11-10T05:50:53","date_gmt":"2016-11-09T20:50:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.igs.ocha.ac.jp\/en\/?p=882"},"modified":"2025-10-23T14:13:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T05:13:53","slug":"20161110-2","status":"publish","type":"reports","link":"https:\/\/www2.igs.ocha.ac.jp\/en\/reports\/20161110-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Seminar (Reproductive Issue Series)\u00a0\u201cThe Ethics of Prenatal Testing\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

3rd<\/sup> IGS Seminar (Reproductive Issue Series)\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cThe Ethics of Prenatal Testing\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>In 2015, the Institute for Gender Studies held an IGS seminar (in English) at which Catherine Mills of Monash University visited our institute and gave a presentation called \u201cChoice and Consent in Prenatal Testing in Australia.\u201d Mills visited Japan again in 2016 and we were able to hold another English-language seminar with her on November 10t<\/sup>. We also invited Kaori Muto of The University of Tokyo as a speaker for the seminar, and Yasushi Ishida gave comments following each of the two presentations.<\/p>\n

In 2016, we chose \u201cThe Ethics of Prenatal Testing\u201d as the theme for the seminar. Mills introduced a case in which a pregnant woman learned that her female fetus\u2019s hand was missing.\u00a0The doctors\u2019 feeling was that a missing hand did not necessarily warrant termination, but the couple decided to terminate the pregnancy because \u201cthe cosmetic impact of the missing limb would be greater for a girl.\u201d\u00a0Muto reported the current status of NIPT (non-invasive prenatal testing, cell-free DNA testing) in Japan and introduced the results of a research project she conducted with her colleagues based on answers given by genetic counselors to a questionnaire developed for individual interviews. When NIPT was introduced in Japan in 2013, there was concern that it might promote eugenics and result in a high percentage of abortions, or that pregnant women might rush to clinic to get appointments. However, throughout interview studies of Muto and her colleagues, they found that most pregnant women decide not to take the test if they are properly informed about NIPT.<\/p>\n

Following these two presentations, Yasushi Ishida focused on ethical aspects of the discussions, and made comments from the perspective of a philosopher. About Mill\u2019s presentation, he pointed out that the fetus was aborted because it was female, even though a missing hand was considered to be a relatively minor fetal malformation. He then mentioned that people\u2019s thinking about \u201carchitecture of choice,\u201d \u201cperception of severity,\u201d \u201cnormality,\u201d and \u201chealth and disease\u201d differ according to the society or situation, and that \u201cbeing anomalous\u201d and \u201cabnormal\u201d are not always the same. He addressed the question of selective abortion on the basis of fetal sex and fetal anomalies. Regarding Muto\u2019s presentation, Ishida focused on the issues of mass screening, and insisted on the need for society to pay attention to disabled people, citing the cases of \u201cAoi Shiba no Kai\u201d (the national association of people with cerebral palsy) and the \u201cUnhappy Child.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a small seminar with 12 participants, but we were able to have a fruitful discussion with interesting questions.\u00a0Women in Japan are now encouraged to go to college and\/or work outside the home, and therefore many women are active participants in the economy. Some of them therefore postpone pregnancy and childbearing while establishing their careers.\u00a0Often they are over 35 years old when they get pregnant, and they seek prenatal testing to avoid having a child with abnormal chromosomes, as in the case of Down Syndrome, or with other impairments.\u00a0However, is it obvious that disabled children shouldn\u2019t be born? What\u00a0should be considered impairments?\u00a0\u00a0Prenatal testing introduces various ethical problems.<\/p>\n

(Yukari Semba, Project RF of IGS, Ochanomizu University)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Date\/Time: Nov. 10, 2016 18:30\u201320:30
\nSeminar Venue: Room #408, Graduate School of Humanities & Science Bldg., Ochanomizu University
\nLanguage: English only
\nSpeakers:
\nCatherine Mills (Monash University) \u201cGender, Disability and Bodily Norms in Prenatal Testing and Selective Termination of Pregnancy\u201d
\nKaori Muto (The University of Tokyo) \u201cEthics and Governance of Non-invasive Prenatal Testing in Japan\u201d
\nCommentator: Yasushi Ishida (Ochanomizu University)
\nCoordinator: Yukari Semba (IGS, Ochanomizu University)
\nOrganizer: Institute for Gender Studies, Ochanomizu University
\nNumber of Participants: 12<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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