Ethical considerations of fetal therapy

Fetal therapy raises ethical concerns in relation to the balance of potential benefit and harm, autonomy and informed consent, and the duties of the clinician to the pregnant women and fetus. Invasive therapy should be recommended only when it has a realistic chance of saving the life of the fetus and offspring or preventing serious and irreversible disease or disability. Clinicians should respect maternal choice and assessment of risk, particularly if the therapy might be only partially successful, leaving the offspring with a profound morbidity. Fetal therapy should not be undertaken without maternal consent; nor should it be presented coercively as an option to avoid a termination of pregnancy. Therapeutic procedures of unproven efficacy should be undertaken only with the voluntary informed consent of the pregnant woman and according to a clearly defined research protocol that has been approved by an appropriate research ethics committee and where appropriate support and counselling can be provided.