Parental Duties toward Severely Impaired Infants: An Ethical Analysis

Parental duties and untreatable genetic conditions.

This paper considers parental duties of beneficence and non-maleficence to use prenatal genetic testing for non-treatable conditions. It is proposed that this can be a duty only if the testing is essential to protect the interests of the child i.e. only if there is a risk of the child being born to a life worse than non-existence. It is argued here that non-existence can be rationally preferred...

Parental attitudes toward mouthguards.

An 11-item, one-page questionnaire was mailed to 1800 parents chosen at random in the Henrico County, VA public school system. Parents were asked questions such as "who should be responsible for mouthguard wear?" "what sports should require mouthguards?" and "has [their] child ever sustained an oral or facial injury?" The parental responses indicate that mouthguard enforcement is the responsibi...

Ethical responsibilities toward wildlife.

Parental Favoritism toward Daughters

Parental attitudes toward ethical and social issues surrounding the expansion of newborn screening using new technologies.

AIMS This study assessed parent knowledge of newborn screening (NBS) and parent attitudes toward NBS for untreatable conditions, NBS for late-onset disorders and informed consent in NBS. METHODS Seventeen qualitative focus groups were held in Alaska, California, Hawaii, and Washington with mothers of children 10 years old or younger. RESULTS Most participants did not recall receiving inform...