The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape
Genomic testing in prenatal care is rapidly advancing and it is now possible to obtain an entire fetal genome via a blood test administered in early pregnancy. In the pursuit of reproductive autonomy, more tests are being offered to more people, for an ever-increasing range of indications. Health pr...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2024-12-01
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| Series: | New Genetics and Society |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14636778.2024.2332310 |
| _version_ | 1797198444290375680 |
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| author | Kerryn Drysdale J. L. Scully L. Kint K.-J. Laginha J. Hodgson I. Holmes K. L. MacKay A. J. Newson |
| author_facet | Kerryn Drysdale J. L. Scully L. Kint K.-J. Laginha J. Hodgson I. Holmes K. L. MacKay A. J. Newson |
| author_sort | Kerryn Drysdale |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Genomic testing in prenatal care is rapidly advancing and it is now possible to obtain an entire fetal genome via a blood test administered in early pregnancy. In the pursuit of reproductive autonomy, more tests are being offered to more people, for an ever-increasing range of indications. Health professionals who provide pregnancy care are at the vanguard of prenatal testing, yet their views on the impact of technology advancements remain under-explored. Qualitative interviews with Australian healthcare professionals revealed that they value prenatal testing for its information-giving potential. However, the rationale underpinning testing reveals a tension between professionals’ desire for certainty and patients’ expectation that they will be reassured. Coupled with the greater salience of genomic information over other forms of knowledge in prenatal care, we suggest that the unchecked pursuit of information by way of genomic technologies in prenatal testing may paradoxically constrain reproductive autonomy in practice. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T06:59:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9750c544c0034b83ad1cccbe5472de1f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1463-6778 1469-9915 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T06:59:57Z |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Genetics and Society |
| spelling | doaj.art-9750c544c0034b83ad1cccbe5472de1f2024-04-22T08:56:38ZengTaylor & Francis GroupNew Genetics and Society1463-67781469-99152024-12-0143110.1080/14636778.2024.2332310The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscapeKerryn Drysdale0J. L. Scully1L. Kint2K.-J. Laginha3J. Hodgson4I. Holmes5K. L. MacKay6A. J. Newson7Centre for Social Research in Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaDisability Innovation Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Health Ethics, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaDepartment of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.Sydney Health Ethics, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Health Ethics, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaSydney Health Ethics, Sydney School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, AustraliaGenomic testing in prenatal care is rapidly advancing and it is now possible to obtain an entire fetal genome via a blood test administered in early pregnancy. In the pursuit of reproductive autonomy, more tests are being offered to more people, for an ever-increasing range of indications. Health professionals who provide pregnancy care are at the vanguard of prenatal testing, yet their views on the impact of technology advancements remain under-explored. Qualitative interviews with Australian healthcare professionals revealed that they value prenatal testing for its information-giving potential. However, the rationale underpinning testing reveals a tension between professionals’ desire for certainty and patients’ expectation that they will be reassured. Coupled with the greater salience of genomic information over other forms of knowledge in prenatal care, we suggest that the unchecked pursuit of information by way of genomic technologies in prenatal testing may paradoxically constrain reproductive autonomy in practice.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14636778.2024.2332310Prenatal diagnosisbioethicsgenomics |
| spellingShingle | Kerryn Drysdale J. L. Scully L. Kint K.-J. Laginha J. Hodgson I. Holmes K. L. MacKay A. J. Newson The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape New Genetics and Society Prenatal diagnosis bioethics genomics |
| title | The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| title_full | The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| title_fullStr | The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| title_full_unstemmed | The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| title_short | The salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy: Australian healthcare professionals’ views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| title_sort | salience of genomic information to reproductive autonomy australian healthcare professionals views on a changing prenatal testing landscape |
| topic | Prenatal diagnosis bioethics genomics |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/14636778.2024.2332310 |
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