Resumo

BRENES, Rodolfo et al. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Med. leg. Costa Rica [online]. 2005, vol.22, n.2, pp.107-119. ISSN 2215-5287.

Diagnosis of multiple diseases, even before these are clinically shown, and this way, treating them with great efficiency and in a proper way even before birth. This is how the concept of prenatal diagnosis arises, and along with it, that of genetic councel. This brings us to an ethical dilemma which is what can we do if we can diagnose defects that the fetus has, if we can’t do anything to solve them? In 1984, the World Heath Organization emphatized the importance of pre-implantation diagnosis as an early preventive strategy and an option for couples with highly risked genetic diseases; nevertheless, its use has created bioethic and legal problems which concern the practice of Medicine analyzed here.

Palavras-chave : Genetic councel; genetic diagnosis; prenatal diagnosis; eugenesia; bioethic; legal implications.