Below are a couple of articles which help us to explore a world where genetic knowledge is at our fingertips, and lives can be planned or avoided, as the case may be.
Eliminating Suffering or Eliminating People? article by Amy Julia Becker.
No parent wants a child to suffer. Screening tests at every level help humans to eliminate genetic disease and, therefore, human suffering. And yet Christians have good reason to be concerned about the use of these tests, and to advocate for the protection of human life, however it is given to us...
Maybe it's not just the Christians who should be 'concerned'. The use of preimplantation diagnosis (PGD), prenatal diagnosis (PND), and genetic screening, their feasibility and uptake, are increasing at a rapid rate. And with an ever-increasing array of genetic 'conditions' being selected against, what is the logical endpoint?
Reducing people to a medical diagnosis, and the devaluation of disability and illness are themes in a well-written article 'The Gene Genie' by Kathy Evans in The Age, 14 March 2010.
But Dr Leeanda Wilton (Scientific Director of Preimplantation Genetics at Melbourne IVF) also has a practical point of view:
It's a bit sad when lives get drilled down to dollars and cents. But maybe naive to believe society won't operate like that. And for families who have been terribly affected by a genetic condition, who can blame them for wanting to prevent their children (and themselves) from more suffering?
''Given the cost of raising a child with a serious genetic disease - that's a massive cost to the community over many, many years - PGD is very economical. We do not make a profit out of it; we do it because we believe it is a worthwhile service... You have to take into account a family's personal circumstances and the impact of the disease on the family,'' Wilton says.
It's a bit sad when lives get drilled down to dollars and cents. But maybe naive to believe society won't operate like that. And for families who have been terribly affected by a genetic condition, who can blame them for wanting to prevent their children (and themselves) from more suffering?
But what do the rational decisions made by a multitude of well-meaning individuals add up to on a societal level? Eugenics!
Afterthought: And reducing variation runs counter to natural evolution. Nothing religious or superstitious about that.
Afterthought: And reducing variation runs counter to natural evolution. Nothing religious or superstitious about that.
2 comments:
Wouldn't it be great if every mother was guaranteed a healthy baby?
SRSLY? Do you ever think we'll get to a point where a healthy baby can be GUARANTEED!? A healthy baby - GUARANTEED! :)
I'd hate to live in a world like that.
Post a Comment