The Fetus as Medical Patient: Moral Dilemmas in Prenatal Diagnosis from a Cathol [Hardcover]

...a cool, serious, and careful survey of the contribution to the discussion of prenatal diagnosis...Kowledgeable readers seeking quick reference to prenatal conditions will find it useful. Those studying prenatal issues should consult this book, and it has a place in graduate and seminary libraries.Kowledgeable readers seeking quick reference to prenatal conditions will find it useful. Those studying prenatal issues should consult this book, and it has a place in graduate and seminary libraries.With an increased capacity to analyze fetal cells in the laboratory and the present possibility of monitoring human embryonic development using advanced diagnostic technique, prenatal diagnosis (PND) has become widely diffused in medical practice. The Fetus as Medical Patient emphasizes, however, that PND results are not unambiguous: they may either lead to a continuation of the pregnancy, or to an abortion. Cioffi engages the reader in a comprehensive examination of the state of the question regarding diagnosis and possible treatment of human illness in utero. The book deals with biomedical consideration in prenatal human life, presents a survey of the literature of ten North American Catholic theologians who have written on the topic of moral dilemmas in PND over the past twenty years, and critically analyzes the writings of these ten authors.Reverend Alfred Cioffi, STD is Associate Professor of Moral Theology at St. Vincent De Paul Regional Seminary.