FROM a surgeon’s point of view, open fetal surgery is as good as it gets.
Nancy Chescheir, director of the fetal therapy programme at the University of
North Carolina, admits that it isn’t just Joe Public who is dazzled by this
strange new contact with the unborn. “Fetal surgery is very glitzy, it’s very
glamorous, it’s extremely exciting being in the operating room.” But even
Chescheir, who is entering this pioneering area, acknowledges the
ethical minefield that surrounds it.
When her fetal surgery programme opens its doors at the end of this year,
access will be strictly limited. Parents will…
