ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the multiple ways in which fetal life comes into being in trajectories of first trimester prenatal risk assessment (FTPRA) for Down syndrome at an ultrasound clinic in Denmark and offers a reading of such practices as processes of bio-objectification. In discussions about ethically fused practices on border of new reproductive technologies a major concern has been where to draw a morally and ethically acceptable line between life and non-life on the basis of philosophical arguments, in order to legitimate or dissolve such practices. FTPRA is a combined risk assessment and screening technology carried out between weeks 11 and 13 of pregnancy. It involves an ultrasound scan and measures whether the fetus is at risk of having Down syndrome or other chromosomal diseases. The chapter focuses on three situations in FTPRA: the visualisation of fetal life in the context of ultrasound scan, calculation of fetal life in context of risk assessment and communication, and decision making about life.
