Genetic Screening: A good thing or not for society.
Advantages / Disadvantages¨ Detect defects early or before birth
¨ By stopping pregnancy can “weed” out unwanted genes
¨ Treatable disorders can be minimized
¨ Increase human knowledge
¨ More resources for the healthy
¨ Survival of the fittest is the natural law
¨ Manages the population
¨ Governments control who can have children???
¨ Less drain on family resources
¨ Quality of life for all
¨ Better health care
¨ Power to shape our destiny / ¨ Couples tempted to abort “imperfect” “child
¨ Only “perfect” human beings are acceptable
¨ Drain on health care systems – expensive for testing and care
¨ Only the rich will be able to afford perfect children.
¨ Creates “classes” of people who can afford screening
¨ Compassion no longer seen as a value
¨ Governments may demand testing
¨ Who owns the information gathered?
¨ Health Insurance companies can refuse to cover pre-existing conditions
¨ Quality of life for those affected reduced
¨ What is considered a “defect” – who decides
¨ Society becomes immoral no value placed on human life
¨ Designer babies
¨ Lack of dignity and respect for all life
¨ Life becomes disposable if not desirable
¨ Repeat of Hitler’s Eugenic’s
¨ Where does it stop? The old, what is normal?
Catholic church’s position; All life is sacred from the moment of conception regardless of age, race, health or intelligence. Challenge to be compassionate to accept all as “gift”. Society is a community so all should help in the care and raising of a child with a disability not just the parents. A sharing of resources. Genetic screening can help treat disorders such as PKU that’s a good thing. We are not God. Need to remember this.
Just because we can do something should we?????
Concerns about how information is used and by whom.