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Acceptability of prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy in Pakistan

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Abstract

This study aimed to assess acceptability of prenatal testing (PNT) and termination of pregnancy (TOP) for a range of conditions in Pakistani parents with and without a child with a genetic condition. A structured questionnaire assessing acceptability of PNT and TOP for 30 conditions was completed by 400 Pakistani participants: 200 parents with a child with a genetic condition (100 fathers and 100 mothers) and 200 parents without an affected child (100 fathers and 100 mothers). There was a high level of interest in PNT, where over 80 % of parents in all four study groups would want PNT for the majority of the conditions. There was comparatively less interest in TOP for the same conditions (ranging from 5 to 70 % of parents, with mothers of an affected child being most interested). Parents were most likely to be interested in TOP for conditions at the serious end of the continuum. More than half of the participants in each group would consider TOP for anencephaly and quadriplegia. The interest in PNT and TOP for a range of conditions suggests that rapidly developing PNT technologies are likely to be acceptable in Pakistan, a low-middle income level and Muslim country. The comparatively lower level of interest in TOP for the same conditions highlights ethical dilemmas that such technologies are likely to raise.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are thankful to Prof. Dr. Yasmin Raashid, Dr. Yasmin Shah, Mr. Shahid Anwar and Mr. Ayub Butt and other staff working in their respective institutions for providing access and support. We would also like to thank those parents in Lahore who participated in the study.

Conflict of interest

Hussain Jafri, Jenny Hewison, Eamonn Sheridan and Shenaz Ahmed declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Compliance with ethics guidelines

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (Research Ethics Committee, Pakistan Medical Association, Lahore) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Genetech Laboratory, 146/1 Shadman Jail Road, Lahore, Pakistan

    H. Jafri

  2. Leeds Institute of Health Sciences, University of Leeds, 101 Clarendon Road, Leeds, LS2 9LJ, UK

    J. Hewison & S. Ahmed

  3. Yorkshire Regional Genetics Service, Leeds NHS Teaching Hospitals Trust, Leeds, UK

    E. Sheridan

Authors
  1. H. Jafri
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  2. J. Hewison
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  3. E. Sheridan
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  4. S. Ahmed
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S. Ahmed.

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Jafri, H., Hewison, J., Sheridan, E. et al. Acceptability of prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy in Pakistan. J Community Genet 6, 29–37 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-014-0198-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12687-014-0198-9

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