[Bioethical dilemmas in prenatal diagnosis: non-invasive prenatal test and new technologies].

Abstract

Every pregnant woman in the Spanish national health system is offered the option of controlling her pregnancy by means of prenatal screening. For women in a high-risk situation, non-invasive techniques for the detection of chromosomal aneuploidies are now available, which have the advantage of not endangering the life of the fetus, facilitating subsequent prenatal genetic diagnosis. However, despite the potential medical benefits for both pregnant women and fetuses, the widespread implementation of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) raises a number of ethical issues. The objective of this work is to explore the ethical aspects derived from the implementation of the NIPT from the perspective of the main philosophical currents in bioethics and their implications for the health professional. In particular, it focus on the ethical aspects raised by the NIPT according to the major bioethical currents, the possible ethical dilemmas that the clinical advisor faces based on these currents and the requirements that genetic counseling for an ethical implementation of NIPT in clinical practice taking advantage of its advantages without violate human dignity.