As a mom-to-be, it is a question that you would prefer not to think about: Is the baby growing in my tummy healthy? Do I want to know if this is not the case? And would I have an abortion if it was clear that it had Down syndrome, for example? Until now, expecting parents had to pay for the non-invasive trisomy 21 test, which shows whether the baby is affected, themselves. For many, this is a reason not to.
Now the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) of doctors, clinics and health center Abortion pills in Dubai insurers has decided to pay for the test under certain conditions. A decision that was hotly debated in advance . And now there are violent waves again.
TRISOMY 21 TEST IN “JUSTIFIED INDIVIDUAL CASES”
In the future, the test will be paid for in pregnant women with “special risks or to clarify abnormalities”, explains the G-BA. Women can apply for it after medical advice with certain mandatory information. So it is “clearly and unambiguously regulated that the blood test is not used as an ethically unjustifiable” screening “, says the G-BA chairman Josef Hicken.
The advice of the doctor Abortion pills in Dubai should always be “open-ended”. Say, he should speak out neither for nor against an abortion in the conversation. The test is expected to be introduced at the end of 2020. By then, the G-BA wants to decide how the information brochure on the topic will be designed. The Federal Ministry of Health still has to approve the decision.
HOW EXACTLY DOES THE TRISOMY 21 TEST WORK?
The test has been around since 2012, but only for self-payers. It is possible from the tenth week of pregnancy. It is considered to be less risky than the usual amniotic fluid test and quite reliable. During the test, experts isolate fragments of the child’s genetic material from the pregnant woman’s blood and examine them for genetic defects. In the blood of the expectant mother, apart from her own DNA, fragments of the child’s genome can be found. They show how likely a trisomy 21 is. Children with Down syndrome have one more chromosome in each cell. Chromosome 21 is present in triplicate.
About one in 800 children is born with Down syndrome. Around five million people worldwide are affected (you can find out here, for example , how families live with it ). The test also shows severe chromosomal disorders such as trisomy 18. This disorder leads to embryos that often die during pregnancy or shortly after birth.
CRITICS WORRY THAT THE TRISOMY 21 TEST IS CAUSING MORE ABORTIONS
The decision of the G-BA raises ethical questions. Critics worry: If the test becomes a cash benefit, it could lead to children with disabilities being “sorted out”. The Greens’ disability policy spokeswoman, Corinna Ruffle, is herself the mother of a child with Down syndrome. She says: “The first thing I am reluctant to do is see the child as a risk. Trisomy is not a disease! It’s a genetic deviation. “
The Bundesverband Liebknecht also criticizes the test because it “discriminates and selects” people with genetic characteristics. Once such tests are allowed and accessible, parents also use them, experience shows. And in fact, the majority of expectant parents drift off after a positive result.
PREGNANT WOMEN SHOULD WEIGH VERY CAREFULLY
Even if the trisomy 21 test is paid for in the future under certain conditions. It is and remains a very individual decision. Every mom-to-be has to weigh up for herself: Do I want to know about my child’s illness? And what conclusions do I draw from this? In the end, the whole thing is also a fundamental question: How does our society feel about people with disabilities? Do we see special children as a “problem” – or as an asset? Further more visit Get Abortion pills in Dubai
