Rebecca Duffett reports

But in society where we are looking to eliminate discrimination, Josephine questions this approach: "If we have a real policy of equality, the first option should be what support is available, not first choice abortion".

So what will all this look like in reality?

It's been suggested that the idea of screening should not only be taught in schools, but potentially also offered to pupils as young as 15. Dr Helen Wallace is a Geneticist: "Advocating that every child in every school should be educated and encouraged to take these tests before they get married or before they decide whether or not to have a baby - I think that's quite disturbing!"

We are aware of the cuts being made in all parts of public life, and this would be an expensive scheme for the NHS to under take at the moment. Health Correspondent Thomas Moore concludes that, "At the moment it would only be available privately and it's likely to cost several hundred pounds to be tested for this battery of genes that people can carry. Wider than that, the NHS would need to be satisfied that this was a cost effective test before it implemented it".

And then there's the question of whether people would be merely offered a test, encouraged to take a test, or even penalised for not taking a test. Josephine comments, "You have to be careful when tests are available, at the beginning they're optional but there comes a time people sort of suggest, 'Well you could've tested for that, why should we as a State have to pick up the burden of your disabled child, when you didn't choose to get a test beforehand?'"

It's not the first time such an idea has been tried. Josephine explains, "In France, there was an attempt by the government to say that they wouldn't give treatment to children born with Downs Syndrome if the parents hadn't undergone testing for it beforehand. They weren't compelling the parents to have an abortion, but they were saying that testing for Downs Syndrome had to be a compulsory test during pregnancy. There was an uproar because the radiographers in France refused and said that they would not accept that they had to test for Downs Syndrome and they said that that would be unacceptable".

So although there doesn't seem to be any major objection to the tests in themselves, the potential consequences of their results is what's causing some concern.

There's also questions to be answered on how a system of screening would be implemented and managed in the longer run.

Would these tests be a useful scientific breakthrough, or could it be used as a form of eugenics to ease the tax burden on the NHS and manufacture a vision of 'perfect' human beings?

The UK screening committee will now look into the findings before any further action is taken.