In today’s GC class, we talked about the role of GC. It’s very interesting.
I used to think people think about GC in a very positive way as GC has been defined --- educate people with genetic knowledge and help their decision making and cope with genetic disorders. However, one of classmates brought up a very interesting notion which is many people link GC as those who will decide if you should have this baby or they usually advocate termination of a pregnancy.
Of course it is not true. First, prenatal setting is only one of sub-settings for GC to provide services. GCs work for pediatrics, cancer or even common diseases. Second, GCs won’t tell people what they should do. Instead, they maximize the options people could have when they encounter genetic disorders. Some options may be common, some may be new for many people. For instance, a woman with Down syndrome baby could choose to terminate pregnancy, or continue pregnancy and raise the baby, or continue pregnancy and adopt the baby out. So GCs is not synonymous with termination of pregnancy which is a personal choice, and GCs can’t decide for people. But what they can do is to help people realize the options such that they would prepare for their decisions.
It is interesting people see genetics in a negative way. Most likely, it is attributable to media, movies. People usually see genetics as mutations which lead to monster like animals or engineered crops which may not be healthy or may impose potential risk for human beings. They see geneticists and people who work in this field as eugenicists who advocate infertility for people who are disabled or inferior. It is so not true. Maybe part of our job would be to advocate GC and their service.
Another interesting question is why people should see GC when they can easily get information they want through internet. A patient came to see us several weeks ago and the first thing she asked is “I checked online, does my baby have XXX syndrome?” People find information online, they may get certain help and/or support through online forums and blogs too. But undoubtedly, face to face interaction is powerful. Not only can GC explain information more accurately, but also they would provide psychological counseling --- taking you through the bad time. Online support and information should be used wisely which can be directed by service provided in a traditional face to face fashion.
