2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Online Program

327983
Prenatal Genetic Testing and Abortion Decision-Making for Autism among Taiwanese Parents of Affected Children


Monday, November 2, 2015

Shixi Zhao, B.S., Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Chen-Hui Wang, M.S., Department of Special Education, National Hsinchu University of Education, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Tse-Yang Huang, Ph.D., Department of Special Education, National Hsinchu University of Education, Hsinchu, Taiwan
Divya Talwar, M.P.H., Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Lei-Shih Chen, PhD, PT, CHES, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX
Background: Prenatal genetic testing (PGT) for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is currently available through some hospitals and prenatal clinics in Taiwan. Yet, attitudes toward PGT and abortion decision-making among parents of children with ASDs in Taiwan are unknown.  To the best of our knowledge, we conducted the first qualitative study to explore such perspectives among Taiwanese parents of children with ASDs.

Methods: Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with a hypothetical scenario were conducted with 39 Taiwanese parents having at least one child diagnosed with ASD. All interviews were audio-taped and coded afterwards for content analysis using Nvivo 10.0

Results: Our preliminary data showed that 24 (61.5%) parents were interested in undergoing PGT for ASD for early intervention and treatment, abortion decision-making, and curiosity, and two parents were unsure about if they would like to undergo the test or not. Among the 26 parents who were either willing or unsure about undergoing the PGT for ASD, more than two-thirds of the parents (n=18) preferred to abort the affected pregnancies due to lack of social support, family burden, economic burden, and concerns about future generation’s health.

Conclusions: The majority of our participants supported PGT for autism, and intended to abort their affected pregnancies. These findings contribute to the understanding of the ethical, legal and social implications of PGT for ASD in Taiwan. Moreover, social supports to families of children with ASD are needed.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Ethics, professional and legal requirements
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the prenatal genetic testing and abortion decision-making for autism among parents of children with ASD in Taiwan; Discuss the ethical, legal and social implications of prenatal genetic testing for autism in Taiwan.

Keyword(s): Abortion, Genetics

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been engaged in this research project for nearly two years and also have co-authored one research paper about autism genetic testing. Currently I am working on the data analysis, data checking and paper writing for this project. In addition, my doctoral study is also focus on the health genomics areas, which give me a solid background on this topic.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3219.0: Unintended pregnancy, abortion, and post-abortion care