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Clip description
Elizabeth Hearne and her husband have come for genetic testing of her foetus. Elizabeth’s family has a genetic history of muscular dystrophy and Elizabeth has seen other members of her close family with this terrible and disabling disease.
Curator’s notes
Elizabeth and her husband already have a healthy toddler. Now she is pregnant again and they would like to avoid the very real danger that Elizabeth carries the gene for muscular dystrophy. We become part of Elizabeth’s fear and trepidation as she waits for the test results.
This is an excellent example of taking a complicated and abstract scientific or medical issue, and personalising it dramatically. We immediately share the anxieties of the young couple portrayed here, and our desire to understand the science involved is heightened.
The Trouble With Medicine was a co-production between the BBC and WNET Channel 13 in New York and the ABC. The ABC’s Tim Clark directed this episode, with associate producer Susan Lambert. The series was conceived and produced by Stefan Moore, a US independent documentary producer. Soon after the conclusion of this series, Stefan migrated to Australia and has since become an independent producer in Australia.
