Brave New World
The company, Counsyl, is selling a test that it says can tell couples whether they are at risk of having children with a range of inherited diseases, including cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs, spinal muscular atrophy, sickle cell disease and Pompe disease…
Once informed, Counsyl says, couples can take steps like using in vitro fertilization with genetic testing of the embryos, to avoid bearing children who would have the diseases, many of which are incurable and fatal in childhood.
Full report on genetic testing for prospective parents.
This is brave new world. I’m not sure I’m comfortable with it.
If it works, it’s a godsend. Think of all the pain and misery that could be avoided.
Ken, don’t you think this is playing God? Also, what if there are unforseen bad things that happen as a result?
It sounds like (somewhat) socially-acceptable eugenics.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eugenics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenics
[…] Brave New World | John Goodman | NCPA […]
Question: who bears the cost? If this company is established in places like MA, where IVF is covered, they stand to make lots of money and insurance premiums will definitely be going up. The unfortunate individuals who have no choice but to have insurance that covers IVF will be the losers. It will really get ugly if IVF is mandated at the federal level…
The Jewish community successfully eradicated Tay-Sachs with universal screening. Think of it like a vaccination, simple prevention that can avoid a lot of problems.
Virginia, it is VERY irresponsible on your part to scare people with this false notion of “eugenics”. It’s like Jenny McCarthy scaring people about vaccines causing autism.
:*There are certainly a lot of deliats like that to take into consideration. That is a great point to bring up. I offer the thoughts above as general inspiration but clearly there are questions like the one you bring up where the most important thing will be working in honest good faith. I don?t know if best practices have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your job is clearly identified as a fair game. Both boys and girls feel the impact of just a moment’s pleasure, for the rest of their lives.