Tay-Sachs and the abortion controversy

Tay-Sachs disease is a fatal recessive genetic disorder that effects the central nervous system of Ashkenazi Jewish infants. The disease is incurable. The only method of prevention is screening for heterozygotes with subsequent amniocentesis for at-risk couples and abortion of the genetically doomed infants. Genetic screening and abortion are complex ethical issues that bridge the worlds of religion and science and challenge the dynamic halachic reasoning of the Jewish people. This work examines the debate surrounding the abortion controversy, with special emphasis on the subjective biases inherent in debates of this type.