Bioethical issues in perinatology--is the future now?

The rapid progress of the science of perinatology has produced a broad range of capabilities in our approach to the fetus. Advances in diagnostic methodology, both invasive and noninvasive, enable early identification and potentially, early correction, of a multitude of disorders. The laboratory correlates of this progress have kept pace, with possibilities in the areas of fetal surgery and genetic manipulation which seemed fantasy only a few years ago. Important moral issues which had been deferred because of our physical limitations must now be addressed. As instigators of the scientific stampede, perinatologists must assume a major role in the ethical inquiry as well.