One Bad Take: A Daily Newspaper Misses the Target on Prenatal Testing

On Jan. 1, 2022, The New York Times published an article, “When They Warn of Rare Disorders, These Prenatal Tests are Usually Wrong,” arguing that positive test results from prenatal genetic screenings are incorrect 85 percent of the time. The article discusses the five most common microdeletion tests and shares personal stories of women who have experienced fear and anxiety, after receiving false positives.

The article presents a skewed view of both screening and rare diseases, which has caused a storm on social media in the rare community. Genetic counselor Elizabeth Kearney joins the conversation, expertly addressing the article’s inaccuracies and assumptions.

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• Send a letter to the NY Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/08/opinion/letters/prenatal-genetic-tests.html