The Pros And Cons Of Sickle Cells

An African American couple, Mr. Wilbur Johnson and Miss. Mae Sanford, met, fell in love, planned to get married and start a family. Shortly after, when visiting a physician, Mr. Johnson was told that if he and Miss. Sanford are carriers of the sickle cell trait, then they would have a one chance in four chance of their child having the disease, or have two in four chances that their child would be a carrier of the trait, but they also had one of four chances that the child would not have the gene at all. The physician also informed them that it is state law that any child would be tested for sickle cell at birth, unless the parents registered their objection. The sickle cell trait disease an inherited and autosomal recessive gene, which means

He also knew that the trait is common for African Americans, given that approximately one in twelve has the trait, so that there was a possibility Ms. Sanford was a carrier too, but Ms. Sanford had no sickle cell disease history in her family that she

If anything the testing is a preventative measure and beneficial so that parents are aware early on of the disease and are able to take precautions. Hospitals mandating the testing in newborns is not done with wrong intentions and it does not cause any harm to the baby, nor to the parent. It would be better to know at birth about a severe disease then find out later in life, and then be informed that you only have a year or less to live. When testing is done that early, precautions taken from that point forward can be beneficial to the carrier and their family. For Mr. Johnson to feel that mandated testing in newborns or premarital screening of African American for the sickle cell trait is an attempt by the government to cripple African Americans reproductions is unjustified. All African American newborns do not have the trait, and The Center for Disease Control requires that all states conduct a Baby’s First Test on all newborns, regardless of race. Also, all states also screen for cystic fibrosis, which is another genetically inherited disease without a cure that is common in caucasians. Mr. Johnson also is not justified in his reasoning because he does have the opt-out option. He does not have to do any precautionary testing before conceiving a child not does he have to have his child tested at birth, even if the option