Malpas P J
Philosophy Department, The University of Auckland, Private Bag, 92019, Auckland, New Zealand.
J Med Ethics. 2008 Apr;34(4):275-8. doi: 10.1136/jme.2006.019802.
One of the central arguments given to resist testing currently healthy, asymptomatic children for adult-onset diseases is that they may be psychologically harmed by the knowledge gained from such tests. In this discussion I examine two of the most serious arguments: children who are tested may face limited futures, and that testing may result in damage to the child's self esteem (where the test result returns a positive diagnosis). I claim that these arguments do not stand up to critical evaluation. In conclusion, whilst I do not suggest that all at-risk children should be tested for adult-onset diseases we ought to listen carefully to some parental requests for such testing because the putative psychological harms may not be as significant or likely as initially thought. This is because parents generally have the best interests of their children at heart and if they are properly supported and educated about predictive genetic testing and the possible consequences, then the risk of psychological harms occurring may be ameliorated.
目前反对对当前健康、无症状的儿童进行成人发病疾病检测的一个核心论点是，他们可能会因这类检测所获得的信息而受到心理伤害。在本次讨论中，我审视两个最严重的论点：接受检测的儿童可能面临有限的未来，以及检测可能会损害儿童的自尊（检测结果呈阳性诊断时）。我认为这些论点经不起批判性评估。总之，虽然我并不建议对所有有风险的儿童进行成人发病疾病检测，但我们应该认真听取一些家长提出的此类检测请求，因为假定的心理伤害可能并不像最初认为的那么严重或可能发生。这是因为父母通常真心为孩子的最大利益着想，如果他们在预测性基因检测及其可能后果方面得到适当的支持和教育，那么发生心理伤害的风险可能会降低。
