Video Transcript
Which of the following is not a
benefit of offering genetic screening to at-risk individuals? (A) Genetic screening allows
parents to not go ahead with a pregnancy if it is going to cause severe financial or
psychological problems. (B) Genetic screening can reduce
the chance of parents conceiving a child that will not make it to birth or that will
die very soon after. (C) Genetic screening can reduce
the occurrences of serious genetic disorders in a population. (D) Genetic screening can be used
by the parents to choose the sex of their child. (E) Genetic screening can help
parents prepare to care for children with genetic disorders.
This question is asking us about
genetic screening and its benefits. Let’s discuss this in some detail
so we can choose the best answer to our question. The DNA in our cells is responsible
for giving us many of our characteristics, such as eye or hair colour for
example. These characteristics are brought
about by genes, which are sections of DNA that contain the instructions for these
characteristics.
Unfortunately, we may also possess
genes that can cause certain diseases or disorders. Although we may not show these
disorders ourselves, our future children might. So it’s important to undergo
genetic screening to see if we carry these affected genes in order to evaluate the
risks of passing these disorders onto our children.
Genetic screening has many
benefits. Let’s go through the answer choices
now and discuss what some of these benefits are and then choose the option that is
not a benefit as directed by the question. Genetic screening can be used to
counsel parents on the risks of having a child with a genetic disorder. If they are at high risk, then they
may decide it is too much of a psychological or financial burden for them. So, answer choice (A) indicates a
benefit of genetic screening and is therefore incorrect.
Answer choice (B) also represents a
benefit of genetic screening as it can identify a pregnancy that may not be viable
or will lead to an infant that may not survive. So, this is incorrect. Answer choice (C) is another
benefit. By screening the population, this
will reduce the chance of children being born with genetic disorders since many
parents will choose not to go through with those pregnancies.
Answer choice (D) indicates an
aspect of genetic screening, which is currently not practised for ethical
reasons. So, this is not a benefit and is
therefore a correct answer. But let’s look at our final choice
to be sure.
Answer choice (E) is another
benefit of genetic screening since parents will have a head start in preparing for
any disorder the child may have.
Therefore, the option that is not a
benefit of genetic screening is given by answer choice (D). Genetic screening can be used by
the parents to choose the sex of their child.
