foetus• It was a foetus - a few cells - not yet a baby.• The results can include cancer and geneticdamage to a developing foetus.• But so is the 6-month-old foetus.• Incidentally it changes its composition considerably between the foetus and the adult.• Treatment can help prevent the infection from seriously damaging the foetus.• The tissuesamples are taken from the foetus at seven weeks old, when it is only about one inch long.• The mainimportance of the virus, however, lies in its capacity to infect the foetus in utero.• The only possible qualification is a case in which the choice may lead to the death of a viablefoetus.