Neonatal screening: ethical aspects.

The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the ethical issues raised by neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis and to propose a structure for the ethical analysis of these issues. The structure is based on an analysis of some of the most common shortcomings of ethical analyses. The structure needs to be supplemented by facts about the present state of the art concerning effects and costs of the various screening and treatment alternatives. Such information is provided by other contributions to these proceedings.