Abstract
BackgroundSickle cell anemia (SCA) is a major genetic disease with the greatest burden in sub-Saharan Africa. To try to help reduce this burden, some churches in Nigeria conduct premarital sickle cell hemoglobin screening and refuse to conduct weddings when both individuals are identified as carriers of sickle cell trait.Main bodyThis paper explores the ethical challenges involved in such denials. We assess whether churches have the right to decline to marry adults who understand the risks and still prefer to get married, and whether couples should be denied church weddings based on the risk that their child may suffer from sickle cell anemia. We examine the moral and ethical dimensions of such denials and explore the underlying socio-cultural context involving the purpose of marriage and the meaning of the wedding ceremony in societies where premarital screening is one of the few tools available to reduce the risk of having children with SCA. The potential role of the church is also examined against the background of church beliefs, the duty of the church to its members and its role in reducing the suffering of its members and /or their children.ConclusionWe argue that the church should impose these burdens on couples only if doing so promotes a sufficiently compelling goal and there is no less burdensome way to achieve it. We then argue that the goal of reducing the number of individuals in Nigeria who have SCA is compelling. However, testing earlier in life offers a less burdensome and potentially even more effective means of achieving this goal. This suggests that, advocating for earlier screening and helping to support these programs, would likely better promote the church’s own goals of helping its parishioners, increasing the number of church weddings, and reducing the burden of SCA in Nigeria.
Highlights
Premarital screening as a strategy for prevention of inherited disorders Premarital screening involves couples who plan to wed undergoing a panel of tests for “genetic, infectious and blood transmitted diseases to prevent any risk of transmitting any disease to their children” [15]
We argue that the goal of reducing the number of individuals in Nigeria who have Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is compelling
Carriers who have one copy of the mutant hemoglobin S gene typically have no symptoms. When both parents are carriers, there is a 25% chance that a pregnancy will result in a child who is affected with sickle cell anemia (Hemoglobin SS)
Summary
We argue that the church should impose these burdens on couples only if doing so promotes a sufficiently compelling goal and there is no less burdensome way to achieve it. We argue that the goal of reducing the number of individuals in Nigeria who have SCA is compelling. Testing earlier in life offers a less burdensome and potentially even more effective means of achieving this goal. This suggests that, advocating for earlier screening and helping to support these programs, would likely better promote the church’s own goals of helping its parishioners, increasing the number of church weddings, and reducing the burden of SCA in Nigeria
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