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Would you be willing to take advantage of genetic screening/engineering to overcome sterility and guarantee a child free of genetic diseases?

Results so far:

Yes
54% 114 votes Total: 212 votes
No
46% 98 votes

The supreme race. That is what we are talking about. This is where the slippery slope is sure to lead to. Please leave Utopian emotion aside for a moment and think of the ramifications of genetic engineering. Even the title of of this debate is misleading. Genetic testing does not guarantee a perfect specimen rather it points out probabilities. Some conditions are definite while others are a percentile. My mother was told that my sister most likely would be infertile, I am now a proud uncle. One of my best friends has retinitis pigmentosa and will most likely be blind by the time he is fifty, he is presently an emergency room physician. A saying we learned in Chiropractic school was when you hear hoof beats, it is more likely a horse than a zebra. This was a saying that we learned in when forming a differential diagnosis. It means choose the option with the higher probability but do not discount the possibilities. If a certain condition is prevalent in 90% of a specific population it still exists in the other 10% just not as often. Gallbladder disease is common in older , overweight women. This is not to say that men don't suffer from failing gallbladders. So if a genetic screening identifies a possible complication this is not a definitive but rather an probability. My sister was the zebra while my friend was the horse. So if genetic testing was available 30 years ago when my sister and friend were born, what would have been different? Would his mother have chosen to abort her baby if it was determined that he will go blind eventually? Would I not have such a beautiful niece had my sister been convinced she could not bear children? I dread the thought of any of them not being in the world, perfect or not.

Adolph Hitler had a notion of the supreme race. Is it that much different to determine a persons genetic makeup before they are born than it is after? Have you ever seen the requests at sperm banks? They list options well beyond health history such as height, hair and eye color and even hobbies. So the traditional couple is forced to roll the genetic dice while the inseminated parents get to choose their offspring albeit with no guarantees. If you were to list your health history, eye color, height and body frame would you be a candidate for the ultimate specimen? If not does that knock you out of the genetic pool of viable human beings?

Labrador retrievers are prone to hip dysplasia. This is due to years and years of controlled breeding without


Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:

Would you be willing to take advantage of genetic screening/engineering to overcome sterility and guarantee a child free of genetic diseases?

No
  • 1 of 9

    by Margrette Butler

    Genetic engineering and screening brings with it a vast arena of moral and social implications that unfortunately, we...read more

  • 2 of 9

    by Charlotte Dummitt

    Genetic testing and engineering can be and has been wrong! Science is supposed to be an exact medicine. However, we a...read more

Yes
  • 1 of 7

    by Jacob d'Armand

    In my opinion, I would have no objection to allowing scientists to screen and manipulate the genetic material I donat...read more

  • 2 of 7

    by Joshua Brackin

    From a religious perspective, the body is the temple of the soul and as long as changing the body does not change the...read more

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