I think of medical screening as a process by which early disease and increasingly, the risk factors for disease are identified with the aim of preventing the onset or progression of said disease in an individual or a population.
Thinking of the relatively recent (1960's) practice of prophylactically injecting Rhesus negative women with an anti rhesus D immunoglobulin during her second pregnancy to reduce the risk of her immune system attacking the growing foetus. This life saving procedure is administered to women who have been identified as being rhesus negative in ante natal screening. These days, many people are already aware of their blood type but may not realise the significance it has. The potential benefits for reducing infant mortality are great though it's a bit harder to think of the harms on this one.
I wondered if there might be an issue around stigma in cases where the risk of differing rhesus status is known but not clearly understood. There could be the potential to blame the mother for putting her unborn child at risk. I'm thinking of societies and cultures where medical technologies clash with traditional norms and beliefs.
