Prevention i den moderna genteknikens tidevarv

Att lära av funktionshinderrörelsen

Abstract

This article analyses the report “A Disability Rights Analysis of Genetic Technologies: Report on a National Convening of Disability Rights Leaders” (Generations Ahead 2009) to examine perspectives on prevention of genetic disabilities. The text is considered an alternative conversation compared to public conversations on preventive use of genetic technologies, such as those taking place in Sweden. Within disability research, the social consequences of prevention is an ongoing discussion, with arguments suggesting that a new form of eugenics has emerged. Today, eugenics is an individual project where new genetic technologies, such as prenatal screening, are offered to prospective families who must then decide whether to terminate the pregnancy or not. This article argues that it is central to find other ways to reason about the social phenomena that prevention creates.