The significance of preimplantation diagnosis and awareness of medical workers towards prenatal diagnosis

With the increase in prenatal diagnosis, attention has focused on the ethical problems surrounding abortions following diagnosis of an abnormal fetus. The emotional burden and physical pain of the patient is understandable; however, the stress endured by medical workers performing the abortion under the patient's discretion cannot be ignored. Clinical applications of new preimplantation genetic diagnosis techniques have been introduced in western countries as a means to avoid unnecessary abortions. Various issues centering on these diagnostic methods must be resolved in Japan prior to their clinical application. In order to correctly interpret the discernment of medical workers who perform abortions, a questionnaire towards gynecologists and midwives was carried out. The results showed that most medical workers, although they may understand the necessity of abortions for various reasons, felt some level of emotional stress towards the abortion procedure. A tendency towards greater stress was found among physicians who actually carry out the procedures. This survey also found that a large percentage of these workers strongly agreed to the introduction of preimplantation genetic diagnosis. However, the majority who agreed also consented on the need to correctly resolve the ethical, social, technical accuracy, and safety problems surrounding these new diagnostic techniques.