Prenatal screening in Jewish law.

Carrier screening for cystic fibrosis, Gaucher disease, and Tay-Sachs disease in the Ashkenazi Jewish population: the first 1000 cases at New York University Medical Center, New York, NY.

BACKGROUND By late 1993, the genes for cystic fibrosis and Gaucher disease and the mutations common among Ashkenazi Jews had been identified. In response to these advances, heterozygote screening for cystic fibrosis and Gaucher disease was added to the more than 20-year-old Tay-Sachs disease screening program at New York University Medical Center, New York, NY. OBJECTIVE To review the outcome...

ACOG Committee Opinion No. 442: Preconception and prenatal carrier screening for genetic diseases in individuals of Eastern European Jewish descent.

Certain autosomal recessive disease conditions are more prevalent in individuals of Eastern European Jewish (Ashkenazi) descent. Previously, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that individuals of Eastern European Jewish ancestry be offered carrier screening for Tay-Sachs disease, Canavan disease, and cystic fibrosis as part of routine obstetric care. Based on th...

The Ashkenazi Jewish carrier screening panel: evolution, status quo, and disparities.

OBJECTIVE Although prenatal/preconception carrier screening recommendations for individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish descent (AJ) were published by American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (2008) and American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (2009), scientific advances have led to widely varied screening panels. Mutation carrier frequencies are sometimes based on small, homogeneous AJ p...

Genetic citizenship: DNA testing and the Israeli Law of Return

The Israeli State recently announced that it may begin to use genetic tests to determine whether potential immigrants are Jewish or not. This development would demand a rethinking of Israeli law on the issue of the definition of Jewishness. In this article, we discuss the historical and legal context of secular and religious definitions of Jewishness and rights to immigration in the State of Is...

Prenatal screening and the culture of motherhood.