5 of 7

Yes

Write now Article Tools

Yes. I think genetic screening could become a valuable part of potential parents' decision to have a child. It would also help prepare parents for what may lie ahead. I realize that it will not possible to guarantee a child free from genetic disease any time soon. Genetic screening/engineering could help reduce the instances of many understood genetic disorders.

I wish people needed to pass a test to earn a license to have a child. Every one should have to prove fiscal responsibility, sign a commitment to spend at least 50 percent as much time with their children as they spend at work, demonstrate knowledge of basic first aid, pass an early childhood development exam, and practice disciplining skills on children in a supervised environment. Genetic screening adds to the knowledge available to parents up front.

On the other hand, I would strongly protest any attempt of insurance companies using the results in their cost assessment. I would also anticipate a disappointing increase in poorly studied, so-called 'scientific' links between genetic factors and genetic diseases. Society must clearly and carefully define "genetic disease" and "sterility" so that everyone understands. Regulations must be set up to ensure that practitioners cannot be bribed. I could only hope this testing /engineering did not start a path down a slippery slope toward the quest for a superior human race. Eye color, gender, and skin tone may be associated with genetic predispositions, but not diseases.

Finally, I would hope that anyone taking part in the genetic screening or engineering is made to understand the difference between genetics and gene expression. Lacking the gene for obesity cannot prevent all obesity, for example. Lacking the known genetic markers for cancer susceptibility cannot guarantee the absence of cancer. New diseases and conditions are identified all the time, so as-yet unknown diseases obviously cannot be prevented any more by genetic engineering than by vaccines.

While I am willing and able to take advantage of the latest medical knowledge in genetics, the major moral issue I foresee is the fast-paced growth in the divide between rich and poor, educated and uneducated. If not covered by all medical insurance, and/or prohibitively expensive to the uninsured, then political strife might arise. The rich essentially become richer if they can prevent genetic diseases while the poor become poorer bearing the burden of preventable genetic diseases.

Learn more about this author, Stephanie Sublett.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Would you be willing to take advantage of genetic screening/engineering to overcome sterility and guarantee a child free of genetic diseases??
We want to hear your view. Write now!