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Assume the kinks have been worked out and the treatment will be safe and effective. Would you modify your future child's genes to give them an advantage in life?
This is very early days of gene science. By your very question if all the issues are worked out then just about everyone will be doing it, which means there will be no advantage.
For all we know, we will be destroying their lives because something is bound to go wrong. It ALWAYS DOES.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avondalist
Would you marry and have children with someone who was mentally stunted? What is the difference between gene editing and selective breeding?
You actually believe the two to be the same? Sorry, choosing a hot mate is miles from gene hacking.
If and when genetic procedures are proven safe and successful, I think they will come to be seen as part of routine prenatal care. Why wouldn't you do everything you can to make your kid's life better?
You actually believe the two to be the same? Sorry, choosing a hot mate is miles from gene hacking.
What if you could edit your child's genes to make them "hot" and attractive to others? The net effect is the same, you are selecting genes for your offspring.
The only difference is the specificity of the selections you are making.
Assume the kinks have been worked out and the treatment will be safe and effective. Would you modify your future child's genes to give them an advantage in life?
To help my child not be disabled, I would do this. However, I would not engage in this sort of activity just because I wanted to make my kid "super awesome".
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Avondalist
Would you marry and have children with someone who was mentally stunted? What is the difference between gene editing and selective breeding?
It boils down to connotations, namely the ideals historically associated with selective breeding.
*Selective breeding usually means two people forced to breed with each other (unlike in healthy free societies, in which everybody has legal right to choose their own mate).
*Even when considerable but imperfect freedom of choice is present, it opens the door to restrictions based on racial or other ultimately trivial differences - including the Lebensborn program of Nazi Germany. The same goes for any other possible variants of "Master Race" ideology.
*Gene editing is, I think, inevitable on at least a fairly large scale. It's good for replacing genes that cause actual defects like Down's Syndrome, Cystic Fibrosis, and such that cause actual impediments to a minimal quality of life functioning. BUT...
*Gene editing is, in short likely to lead to a genetic arms race. Unfortunately, it likely won't get us as a species the results we want, but will likely lead to "life imitating art" in the worst way -- superstrong, supersmart, sociopaths "duking it out" for "control of this joint". The "joint" could be planet Earth or the human realm in general (any place where humans live).
I'm afraid this is going to be like the freedom of speech issue - ultimately impossible to come up with a 100% objective standard, but without any standards it'll surely lead to chaos. Freedom of choice within limits, but every standard implemented, a lot of people will disagree. Frankly, I'm not sure humans have the wisdom (collectively or individually) to handle this technology justly, fairly, and responsibly. Brace yourselves, folks. You think the abortion issue was and is explosive? That's just a warmup of things to come!
To help my child not be disabled, I would do this. However, I would not engage in this sort of activity just because I wanted to make my kid "super awesome".
What if all the other kids are super awesome and what used to be normal is now considered disabled?
To help my child not be disabled, I would do this. However, I would not engage in this sort of activity just because I wanted to make my kid "super awesome".
If all the other kids are super awesome, your ordinary kid would essentially be disabled by comparison.
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