Genetic Counselling

Genetic counselling is a complex process and does not seem to have a single definition. From a purely biological standpoint, genetic counselling is, “diagnosing and classifying a genetic disease; to identify unaffected carriers of a defective gene in order to counsel them about the risk of having affected children; to detect a serious genetic disease before the clinical onset of symptoms in order to improve the quality of life…” On the surface, the job of a genetic counsellor is practical, helpful, and seems to be serving a purpose to parents, or potential parents. Others choose to define it with a larger percentage of the social implications within the definition. For example, “… helping people try to understand and cope with the effects on their lives and the lives of their families.” It is important to not disregard the extensive social persuasion that a client may experience if they were to learn that their child, or potential child, may be genetically predisposed to disease. Though genetic counselors claim to be supportive of clients and uninvolved in the decisions that a client may make, there is little consideration of the social pressures involved with making certain decisions. Genetic counselling is proof that the concept of eugenics still exists in our current culture and it should be monitored closely to ensure that our standards do not become immoral.

Eugenics is the process of improving the human species by selectively breeding humans according to a standard. This standard seems to depend on the culture that is legislating this standard. For example, the Nazi government deemed the Aryan race, described as having blue eyes and blonde hair, as being the ideal specimen to pass on their genes. Between 1925 and 1940,...

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