Newborn Screening Debate with BodyWorlds 4

The expert panel with Chairperson, Trevor Cox

Nowgen invited members of the public to debate the topic of genetic screening for newborn babies at an event run in partnership the Museum and Science and Industry on 3 June 2008, in conjunction with the BODYWORLDS 4 exhibition.
Newborn Screening: Barcoded at Birth? was chaired by Professor Trevor Cox with a panel including Susan Fairgrieve, a Principal Genetic Counsellor and Regional Education and Training Co-ordinator for Antenatal and Newborn Screening, Francine Jury, a researcher at the Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research at The University of Manchester, and Lucy Frith, a lecturer in Healthcare Ethics from The University of Liverpool.

The evening opened with an excerpt from GATTACA, an american film exploring the potential uses of genetic technologies set in the future. It features the genetic profiling of the main character, Vincent, just after he is born, and his parents being given details of his life expectancy and risk of various diseases. Although futuristic, and almost certainly unrealistic, this stimulus and the expert input from the panel prompted a rich audience discussion about current genetic screening and its future potential. The debate explored questions such as ‘Which genetic conditions should be screened for in all newborn babies? Which genetic tests are unacceptable and why? Are laws in place to prevent the commercialisation of genetic screening? Should parents be allowed to consent to genetic screening of their baby?