Two Plus Two Older Archives  

Go Back   Two Plus Two Older Archives > Other Topics > Science, Math, and Philosophy
FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Prev Previous Post   Next Post Next
  #1  
Old 10-11-2005, 02:03 PM
malorum malorum is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 141
Default Medical EV problem

In the UK a blood test is taken from pregnant women to determine their risk of having a downs syndrome child.

the test can identify the "high risk" of 1 in 300.

If the risk is in this region an amniocentesis is normally performed which will give a near certain diagnosis but carries with it a 1 in 50 chance of causing an abortion.

So the diagnositc proceedure has a higher risk of fetal death, than the risk of disability used to justify the test.

I am guessing the assumption is that the negative utility of having a disabled child is much higher than the negative utility of accidentally killing the unborn feotus.
An example of how "pure EV" is not applied in the scientific field.

thoughts plz
Reply With Quote
 


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 02:21 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.