ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to report on a study that examined how prenatal diagnosis was presented in the lay and professional press in Finland, Greece and the Netherlands from 1994-1996. Professionals use the lay-press in addition to their professional journals to learn about the new developments in their field. The effects of prenatal care, attitudes towards new medical technologies, disability and abortion, the role of the media in each country and the timing of the study- all appeared to have played a role in how the issue of prenatal diagnosis was presented in the public domain. In Finland, the rights of the disabled were linked to prenatal screening. The Greek stance towards prenatal screening was very practical and no critical debate existed in the public domain at the time of the study. In the Netherlands, the maternal serum screening (MSS) debate during the time of the study was reflected in the large volume of papers published mainly in the professional press.
