The Ethics of Genetically Enhancing Children Essays

Medical professionals today can screen for certain genetic traits (genetic diseases and sex) with in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to obtain a healthy child, and reproductive technology continues to improve. With this in mind, the question arises whether sex selection is ethical. Julian Savulescu, Uehiro Professor of Practical Ethics at Oxford University, argues that sex selection is moral, based on his ethical principle of Procreative Beneficence: that â€Å"couples (or single reproducers) should select the child, of the possible children they could have, who is expected to have the best life, or at least as good a life as the others, based on the relevant, available information† [Savulescu 1]. Savulescu claims†¦show more content†¦It reflects the values of a parent wanting the best for the child and also actively seeking out information to make a good decision rather than remaining willfully ignorant in the advent of new technology. In ad dition, well-being in human society is boosted. However, Savulescu has packaged sex selection into his very broad argument and made serious oversights. In a society without gender discrimination, selecting the sex of a child should, in principal, have no bearing to how â€Å"good† a life the child may have. Therefore, Procreative Beneficence should say nothing about which sex one should choose in such a society, or whether that choice even needs to be made. Preferring a child of one sex over another would then be discriminatory: one would be making a prejudiced choice for best likelihood for highest well-being based on an irrelevant consideration. Procreative Beneficence with sex selection then only returns discrimination to a society which has eliminated it. One may object this mild form of discrimination can be justified in a society that treats its born members in a non-sexist way. Steinbock believes there is nothing inherently immoral about sex selection. He reasons sex selection is, in itself, just a choice which is a parental right, noting that even if there is a correlation in some cultures between sex selection and oppression of women, this does not imply that sex selection causes the oppression or that eliminating sex selection will stop itShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics of Genetically Enhancing Children Essay1330 Words   |  6 Pages The term designer children is unnerving at first to many. The idea of parents designing the genetic makeup of their offspring makes children seem like a commodity in a genetic free market. Thoughts of a dystopian society like the one in the film â€Å"Gattaca† come to mind. However, taking an immediate repugnant stand against genetic enhancement is not well-founded. A more open-minded inspection of the issue reveals that the idea of parents improving their children’s life prospects through genetic engineeringRead MoreThe Case Against Perfection : Ethics And The Problems That Arise From It1175 Words   |  5 Pagesof individuality. The parent can now choose how they want their child to come out or develop into. Sandel’s book The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Case of Modern Eugenics is a well researched look into examples of modern eugenics and the problems that arise from it. These topics range from the ethics of cloning, athletes using performance enhancing drugs, and other practical uses in everyday life. Sandel’s argument is that there is value in human nature (even with all its flaws), and geneticRead MoreGenetic Engineering Research Paper1341 Words   |  6 Pages This is called â€Å"genetic engineering.† Genetic Engineering is prematurely applied to food production. 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But there is a limit to the extent of advancements that humankind can reach before some begin to pose dangers to humanity or become unethicalRead MoreThe Case Against Perfection By Michael Sandel Summary1460 Words   |  6 PagesIn the first portion of Sandel’s paper titled, The Case Against Perfection, Michael Sandel discussed the moral and ethics debate surrounding the notion of in the future designing our offspring by altering their genes prior to conception. Within his argument, Sandal focuses on four main arguments surrounding the following realms of enhancement: muscles, memory, growth hormone treatment, and reproductive technologies (Sandel 52). Firstly, Sandel argues that genetic modifications in i mproving musclesRead MoreThe Violation Of Reproductive Freedom1210 Words   |  5 Pagesnotion has come about that that couples and individuals may take an interest in eugenics on behalf of their potential offspring. 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