Genetic Screening May Endanger Fetuses
Screening Meant to Increase Chance of Pregnancy Actually Lowers It, Study Finds
By KAMAL MENGHRAJANI
ABC News Medical Unit
July 4, 2007

Screening unborn children for genetic defects appears to reduce the chances of a healthy pregnancy and live birth, new research suggests.

The findings, published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that checking embryos before using them in in vitro fertilization, and implanting the ones that seem more genetically and structurally healthy, may actually lead to lower rates of pregnancy.

Ironically, this technique -- known as preimplantation genetic screening, or PGS -- is aimed at finding the healthiest embryos. Most experts thought it would not change the odds for women trying to get pregnant, and the technique has even become routine for women over 35 who wish to get pregnant. the rest