Genetic screenings during pregnancy are performed by 'inserting a hollow needle into the woman's abdomen to remove a small amount of amniotic fluid from around the developing fetus.' This allows for the parents to know if their unborn child would be at risk for various genetic diseases. If the child is found to have a great genetic disease, and that they will not have a normal life, the parents could have the option to terminate the pregnancy to prevent suffering. This is somewhat controversial, because it can lead to more abortions, and so their are many groups against genetic screenings.
Cord blood banking is the act of collecting and storing your child's umbilical cord blood for future use. This cord blood is desirable because it contains stem cells, which can be used to treat various diseases, such as leukemia or sickle cell disease, should your child ever develop it in the future, or should a family member. Cord blood banking can be viewed as expensive and unnecessary, though, considering you must pay an annual fee to keep the cord blood stored, and the estimated rate of your child actually need their cord blood is somewhere from 1:1000 to 1:200,000.
Genetically modified food is food (animals and produce alike) that has been genetically altered in order to produce a more desirable result. It is argued that this is a cost effective method, as foods can be altered to grow faster, or be more plentiful, and genetically-engineered food can have potential benefits such as being naturally pest-resistant, which reduces the use of dangerous pesticides. People can be opposed to the idea of consuming something that has been genetically changed, and this process is too new to know of any harmful effects on the body.
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