Views of Finnish doctors on fetal screening

Objective To investigate the views of Finnish doctors concerning fetal screening. Design Anonymous, questionnaire survey conducted in 1996-1997. Population A representative sample of gynaecologists, paediatricians and general practitioners in Finland. Both leading doctors and ordinary practitioners were included. Results Most doctors said that serum screening for Down's syndrome and ultrasound screening for structural abnormalities should be available for all pregnant women. In response to more direct questions, doctors acknowledged many drawbacks to Down's serum screening, notably the worry due to false positives. Only a few were against abortion, and a fifth said fetal screening is partly based on a eugenic ideology. There were some differences between the different doctor groups, bur the overall impression was of similarity rather than divergence, both between the different specialist groups, and by the position of the doctor (leading vs ordinary). Conclusions Finnish doctors support current fetal screening, but many acknowledged resulting ethical, psychological, and social problems.