Issues in Fetal Medicine: Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Symposium of the Galton Institute, 1992 (review)

book by checking the author's paper "The Immunological Self: A Centenary Perspective," published in Perspectives in Biology and Medicine 35:74—86, 1991. Issues in Fetal Medicine: Proceedings of the Twenty-Ninth Annual Symposium of the Galton Institute, 1992. Edited by S. L. Barron and D. F. Roberts. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. Pp. 180. $59.95. During the past two decades, at least, there have been phenomenal advances in the control of human reproduction. "The development of in vitro fertilisation of human eggs, which culminated in the birth of Louise Brown in 1978, signalled a series of new ethical problems concerned with the status of the human embryo ." Pari passu, remarkable advances in genetics presented new problems for ethics, law, and religion, as well as increasing our understanding of human disease. Early prenatal diagnosis of genetic anomalies not only presented difficult (and even painful) decisions for doctors and parents, but have also "led to attempts at treatment, and the fetus has now become a patient in its own right." This volume briefly reviews our understanding of the fetus through history and discusses the modern legal and ethical problems. "The methods available for the investigation and management of fetal disorders, including operating on the fetus in utero, are described by four experienced specialists in fetal medicine." A theologian discusses the ethics of screening for congenital anomalies , and two lawyers comment on recent legislation and some of the problems still unresolved. There are 12 authors and an equal number of chapters divided into three parts, viz., Fetal Diagnosis; Management and Treatment; and Ethical and Legal Issues. The introductory chapter is the Galton Lecture for 1992, "The Changing Status of the Fetus" by S. L. Barron. Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, 39, 1 ¦ Autumn 1995 | 145 ...