Preventing Intellectual Disability: Ethical and Clinical Issues

Abstract

Reviews the book "Preventing Intellectual Disability. Ethical and Clinical Issues" by Pekka Louhiala (2004). People with "intellectual disability", not "mental retardation", is what this book is about. The problems they usually have concern more their intellectual than their total mental functioning, part of which is, for example, loving. The focus of the book is on prenatal genetic diagnosis, screening and counselling. The first abortions due to the chromosomal diagnosis of Down syndrome were performed in 1968, and, since then, attitudes in Western societies towards induced abortion have changed dramatically towards acceptance. Prevention has, however, so far been based on abortion and there still remains a serious gap between the characterization and the treatment of disease. What can be prevented is, then, the birth of people with intellectual disability. The concluding chapter is a reflection on three clinical entities, Down syndrome, Fragile X syndrome and aspartylglucosaminuria. Four arguments are scrutinized in depth: societal burden, family burden, quality of life and moral status. If abortion on request is accepted and if parental autonomy in reproductive issues is valued highly, then it should be up to the couple to decide whether the expected burden is great enough to justify abortion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)