Born Well: Prenatal Genetics and the Future of Having Children

This book brings together an international collection of experts in reproductive ethics, law, disability studies, and medicine to explore the challenging future of reproduction and children. From the medical to the social and from the financial to the legal, the authors explore the expanding impact of reproductive genetics on our society.

New advances in genetic technologies are revolutionizing the practice of reproductive medicine. We have expanded our ability to detect genetic changes in embryos and fetuses in ways that potentially allow to identify, treat, or prevent a growing range of diseases. The development of gene-editing technologies raises questions about the possibility of removing disease-causing variants from embryos before pregnancy implantation. The growing sophistication of prenatal genomic sequencing offers us glimpses into the whole genome of the developing fetus. And, the increasingly sophisticated science of 'gene matching' allows us greater and greater foreknowledge of how the genomes of two individuals will combine in a future child. This is an indispensable book on the newest developments in bioethics caused by the sciences.

Chapter 5 is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

• Reproductive Rights
• Womens Health
• Eugenics
• Disability
• Maternal Health
• Child Health
• Reproductive Genetics
• The Ethics of Reproductive Genetics
• Gender and Queer Studies
• Gene Editing Technologies
• Prenatal Genomic Sequencing
• Maternal and Child Health

• Program in Biomedical Ethics Research, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA

  Megan A. Allyse

• Department of Bioethics, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA

  Marsha Michie

Megan A. Allyse, Ph.D., is a sociologist and empirical bioethicist who studies patient experience and health disparities in women and adolescent health. Dr. Allyse is an expert in qualitative health research and employs community engaged mixed method research. In her work, she partners with clinicians, patients, communities and advocacy groups to understand the sources of inequity in healthcare and innovative strategies to address them. 

Marsha Michie is a cultural anthropologist and empirical bioethicist who studies social and ethical issues in genetics and reproduction. Dr. Michie has conducted qualitative and mixed methods research with pregnant women and their partners, families of people with genetic conditions, and on a variety of stakeholders in genetic research and practice. Dr. Michie's current research focuses on integrating ethical and social guidance into translational processes in biomedicine, particularly in reproduction and genomics, and on integrating understandings of disability and identity into bioethics.

Policies and ethics