The authors discuss the results of a survey of the attitudes of Canadian and French (Picardie, Nord-Pas de Calais) physicians toward selective abortion of fetal anomalies detected by ultrasound, amniocentesis, or chorionic villus sampling. The study documents the threshold of acceptability of abortion of fetuses with selected anomalies, as well as the physicians' own perceptions of their role in the decision to abort. While there was no consensus among all Canadian physicians regarding the acceptability of abortion, more than 55 percent from France and Quebec would accept selective abortion of a fetus affected with trisomy 21, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's chorea, or spina bifida. In the province of Quebec, Anglophone physicians showed a greater acceptance of abortion than did their French-speaking colleagues. In reference to the physician's role in the decision to abort, French physicians are more directive than North American physicians. Cultural predispositions may explain these differences in attitudes.
PIP: Medical genetics is currently at the center of social debate on the future of human reproduction. Given the current availability of quite a few prenatal diagnostic tools capable of detecting pathologies in utero, the authors investigated the attitudes of selected French and Canadian physicians toward selective abortion following the detection of fetal anomalies by ultrasound, amniocentesis, or chorionic villus sampling. The study was first carried out in the province of Quebec and the Picardie and Nord-Pas de Calais regions of France, while a second study was conducted in Anglophone Canada within the framework of a royal commission. In all of Canada, 3072 physicians returned completed questionnaires for a response rate of 52%. 588 physicians in France returned the questionnaire for a response rate of 54%. There was no consensus among Canadian physicians on the acceptability of abortion, but more than 55% of respondents from France and Quebec would accept the selective abortion of a fetus affected with trisomy 21, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's chorea, or spina bifida. In the province of Quebec, Anglophone physicians were more accepting of abortion than their Francophone colleagues. Regarding the physician's role in the decision to abort, French physicians are more directive than North American physicians. Cultural predispositions may explain these differences in attitude.