Sparked by the sequencing of the human genome a decade ago, a new generation of prenatal screening tests has exploded onto the market. The unregulated screens claim to detect with near-perfect accuracy the risk that a fetus may have Down syndrome and a growing list of other chromosomal abnormalities. Hundreds of thousands of women in early pregnancy have taken these tests, but a three-month examination by the New England Center for Investigative Reporting has found that companies are overselling the accuracy of their tests and doing little to educate expecting parents or their doctors about the significant risks of false alarms. Michael Greene, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive biology at Massachusetts General Hospital, is quoted.
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