"I'm Just the Messenger"

Healthcare Professionals, Unexpected Test Results & Moral Distress

"What the parents do with the information is not for the sonographer to determine."¹ So stated Jodie Long, CEO of the Australasian Sonographers Association, when questioned whether sonographers should provide information about the baby's sex when conducting a prenatal ultrasound, even if they know the parents plan to abort the baby if it is the undesired sex. Long answered affirmatively, saying the sonographer should provide the information in a neutral manner if asked.

Long had the same advice about sonograms that show any kind of fetal abnormality. If the sonographer has some level of confidence in what the sonogram reveals, he or she must tell the parents, but do so in a neutral manner. Then...