Blood test for Down syndrome creates ethical debate

Blood test for Down syndrome creates ethical debate - Health - Pregnancy - msnbc.com: Dr. Brian Skotko, a Down syndrome specialist at Children's Hospital Boston who has written a research paper for doctors on how to deliver a diagnosis, said 'the vast majority of people with Down syndrome and families affirm that their contributions to their communities are significant, and their lives are very valuable.'

Current prenatal screening has already cut into the number of babies born with the syndrome, which now stands at about 6,000 each year in the United States, or about 1 in every 691 babies, says Skotko, who serves on the board of the National Down Syndrome Society. He cites one study that concludes the number of Down syndrome births in the nation dropped 11 percent between 1989 and 2006, a time when it would otherwise be expected to rise 42 percent.