Health Technology Assessment (HTA) uses explicit methods to determine the value of a health technology. This typically results in several claims regarding effects that are expected follow from use technology particular context. These seem capture conclusions based solely on facts, but they often combine empirical information with normative presuppositions. Claims have this character reflect (im...

About 40 years ago, invasive prenatal diagnosis techniques were introduced in obstetrics. Initially, amniocentesis was performed followed by placentacentesis, fetoscopy, fetal blood sampling (FBS), and chorionic villus sampling (CVS). These procedures, while invading the uterine environment, have made it possible to proceed with the retrieval of biological tissue of fetal origin for analysis an...

Neural tube defects (NTDs) are congenital malformations of the brain and spinal cord caused by the failure of neural tubes to close between 21 and 28 days after conception (Sadler, 2005). Any disruption of neurulation during or prior to this time may result in a defect or failure of neural tube closure. Non-invasive prenatal diagnostic testing by ultrasound and maternal serum screening, which s...

The emergence of effective cell-free fetal DNA-based techniques to screen for trisomy 21 and other aneuploidies has greatly expanded the range of prenatal tests available over the last few years. Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is rapidly being incorporated into prenatal care, thus changing the traditional approach to prenatal screening and diagnosis. However, although NIPT techniques are ...

Non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) could significantly change the framework for testing and screening in pregnancy. This chapter reviews the ethical implications of this technology, including current issues in prenatal diagnosis, implications for informed consent, possible non-medical uses and options for regulation. The prospect of NIPD normalising screening and termination in pregnancy is...

Background and Aims: New advances in the use of cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) in maternal plasma of pregnant women has provided the possibility of applying cffDNA in prenatal diagnosis as a non-invasive method. One of the applications of prenatal diagnosis is fetal gender determination. Early prenatal determination of fetal sex is required for pregnant women at risk of X-linked and some endocrin...