Genetic screening has progressed rapidly in recent years, allowing consumers to discover if they are predisposed to certain genetic disorders.
This development has brought with it debates about eugenics, genetic discrimination and prenatal genetic screening. Will this type of screening benefit humanity, or will the ethical problems it creates outweigh its benefits?
Sudeep: An estimated four million babies will be born in America this year. Of those, up to 200,000 will suffer from genetic disorders. Thousands will have chromosomal abnormalities, resulting in multiple birth defects and mental retardation. More than 5,000 may die in their infancy due to deficient genes. But with genetic screening, parents can avoid the suffering associated with birth disorders by diagnosing the potential for disease before conception.
The benefits of genetic screening, however, are not limited to preventing birth defects. Currently, 10 percent of all adults in hospitals have hereditary problems. With genetic screening, we can diagnose our predispositions to diseases like diabetes and obesity, and take the precautions necessary to maintain our good health
More than simple practical benefits, genetic screening represents the potential for the "self-direction" of human evolution. With the ability to know ourselves and our genetic predispositions, we can choose the path of our physical and mental development. Soon we will be able to free ourselves from flaws and live up to our highest potential. We can filter out tendencies for alcoholism and delete diseases like Down syndrome from our biological makeup. Imagine a world where everyone is a genius, where no one is disabled or disfigured. We could finally end suffering.
Peter: Knowledge can lead to exciting new technologies, amazing discoveries and bright futures. But placed in the hands of the desperate, self-righteous or sinister, leaps forward can become setbacks. Though prenatal testing has provided valuable information for parents worldwide, it has also caused countless atrocities. Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen estimates that the number of "missing women" has reached "a total that easily exceeded one hundred million worldwide," with sex-selective abortions as a major cause.
Genetic screening could also have abhorrent consequences. Imagine a world where parents can screen for every genetic defect possible in their child and have the option to abort if. Even setting aside the morals behind parents choosing death for their child, the global consequences could be even more disturbing. The best prenatal care is expensive; few countries have it and few within those countries have access to it. This could create a two-tiered world of the genetically rich and the genetically poor, creating inequalities unsolvable by aid and development. Even worse, dictators could sponsor repressive regimes where those deemed genetically unfit could be denied the right to have children.
For those born in the era before genetic selectivity, discrimination could run rampant. Although some states have already enacted anti-discrimination legislation that should prohibit gene bias, this is hardly reassuring. Discrimination based on race and sex is still prevalent despite being groundless. Genetic discrimination would be based on real, measurable factors. Do you want to live in a world where your genes determine not only your health but your position in society?
Sudeep Bhatia is a junior majoring in philosophy; Peter Radosevich is a junior majoring in political science. They can be reached at Sudeep.Bhatia@tufts.edu and Peter.Radosevich@tufts.edu, respectively.
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