Most baby doctors now think we should deliver some babies early just so we can start life-saving gene therapy immediately.
SSRN · March 18, 2026 · 6318907
The Takeaway
For diseases like Spinal Muscular Atrophy, irreversible damage can occur before a baby is born full-term. Doctors are now seriously debating 'elective prematurity' as a standard clinical path, prioritizing early access to powerful new gene therapies over the known health risks of being born too soon.
From the abstract
Objectives: Some genetic diseases have the onset of irreversible pathology in utero, rendering post-natal initiation of a disease monitoring therapy (DMT) sub-optimal. A survey was conducted to identify neonatologists’ opinions on the hypothesis that prompting an elective premature delivery of a fetus in this setting, such as spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), to enable initiation of a DMT earlier in gestation is appropriate. Methods: A ten-item survey was constructed. Responses were obtained from