Abstract EN:

Thanks to the development of ultrasonography, of biological sampling techniques ether foetal (emniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, fetal blood sampling), and maternal, thanks to biological advances (karyotype, biochemistry, molecular biology (pcr)), the prenatal diagnosis allows not only the diagnosis of chromosomal aberrations, genetic disorders, inbom errors of metabolism, but also of birth defects or abnormalily. This enables to implement therapeutics meant to save the foetus through the intermediary of his mother during the foetal life. Faced with the current breakthroughs in biological research and the risks of deviation incurred, the prenatal diagnosis has been subjected to parliamentary debates of the bioethics bill concerning medically assisted procreation. From now on the 29th of jully 1994 law will rule it together with the set up of multi disciplinary centers (specialized obstetrician, physician geneticist, biolost, ultrasonography specialist) if the decision of abortion is made for therapeutic reasons, the advice of two doctors is required it is compulsery for the former to belong to the prenatal diagnosis center and the other doctor must be an expert with the court of appeal. The embryo samping requires the written agreement of both parents. There are pending sanctions should anyone not abide by these ruling procedures. All the medical pracdtictioners involved in the prenatal diagnosis (specialized obstetrician, physician genetist biologist, ultrasonography specialist) risk having their medical responsability at stake once. The prenatal diagnosis aims at knowing better in order to cure better right from the foetal period.