Genetically engineering babies a “moral obligation” | Jill Stanek

De Jill Stanek, por Jill Stanek

Surely trying to ensure that your children have the best, or a good enough, opportunity for a great life is responsible parenting?

So where genetic selection aims to bring out a trait that clearly benefits an individual and society, we should allow parents the choice.

To do otherwise is to consign those who come after us to the ball and chain of our squeamishness and irrationality.

Indeed, when it comes to screening out personality flaws, such as potential alcoholism, psychopathy and disposition to violence, you could argue that people have a moral obligation to select ethically better children.

They are, after all, less likely to harm themselves and others.

If we have the power to intervene in the nature of our offspring – rather than consigning them to the natural lottery – then we should.

~ Oxford Professor Julian Savulescu, also the editor-in-chief of Journal of Medical Ethics, explaining the pluses of creating designer babies as science increasingly identifies personality markers, as quoted in The Telegraph, August 16

[HT: Kelli]

Etiquetas: Jill Stanek