Congenital abnormalities and selective abortion.

The technique of amniocentesis, by which an abnormal fetus can be detected in utero, has brought a technological advance in medical science but attendant medical and moral problems. Dr Seller describes those congenital disabilities which can be detected in the fetus before birth, for which the "remedy" is selective abortion. She then discusses the arguments for and against selective abortion, for the issue is not simple, even in the strictly genetic sense of attempting to ensure a population free of congenital abnormality.