The Times went as far as to say that the positive results from these tests "are usually wrong." Their investigation found that positive results from the tests analyzed were wrong about 85% of the time.
The NYT interviewed researchers and used results from multiple studies “to produce the best estimates available of how well the five most common microdeletion tests perform.” These tests checked for DiGeorge syndrome, 1p36 deletion, Cri-du-chat syndrome, Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, and Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes.
The NYT wrote that the FDA does not regulate these tests. The companies that provide them profit from testing for exceedingly rare conditions that should not require testing. Additionally, these tests proliferate a culture that devalues the lives of those with genetic abnormalities. All lives, born and unborn, have value. A diagnosis with a genetic condition does not change this.
