To who does genetic information belong, the individual or the family? Is this information private or collective? Can genes and their functions even participate in any ownership debates?
Surprisingly, The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted thousands of patents on human genes – in fact, about 20 percent of our genes are patented. A gene [...]
How is the desire to have a biological baby interpreted? Is it an indisputable biological urge or an act of selfishness?
“Wanting a child that is genetically one’s own is a desire deeply implanted in many of us by our religious, cultural, and ethical traditions. It is not per se an unworthy impulse to be dismissed [...]
Within the discussion of genetic responsibility, and especially in relation to pre-conception solutions there is a constant question of the ethical treatment of “possible persons”. With technology and longevity comes a tendency to always look ahead and to seek for methods of control. Science + future forecasting makes prevention of possible people from existing an [...]
Tagged carrier, eugenics, future, moral, predeterminedThe mother’s drive to protect her children is the most powerful heroic instinct we know. Having children is a way of ensuring our genes are passed on to the next generation. Humans usually have just one child at a time, so they are prepared to do virtually anything to ensure their children are safe.
Natural [...]
Is this purely eugenics or a biologically justified form of technology assisted natural selection? What kind of life would these prenataly selected embryos will lead as adults? Knowing their parents have invested greatly in creating a cancer-free child, could they ever justify keeping an unhealthy lifestyles? Are they free to make any possibly damaging life [...]
Tagged choice, eugenics, future, PGDAccusations of responsibility can be not only condescending and insulting, but also distracting, drawing attention away from what is really at stake: often questions about role-related responsibilities and about the degree to which human beings should try to shape the world in which we find ourselves.
When Andre talks about the degree to which we [...]
There is something strange in the discussion around genetic responsibility and eugenics. On the one hand natural breeding with no consideration of genetic information is criticised as irresponsible and blameworthy conduct. With prenatal screening and embryo selection parents cannot be blamed for suffering because they have done the best they could to prevent it.
However the [...]
With genetic transparency family secrets can no longer exist. By constructing a family according to biological knowledge, social structures centered around monogamy and fidelity are reinforced. Genetic screening performed to find possible mutations can also unintentionally function as a paternity test, thus revealing any illicit affairs and disclosing family secrets.
Does genetic knowledge acts as a [...]
As demonstrated by Lemke in the quote below, genetic information is perceived as the ‘key to freedom’. What does this freedom entail? Is it freedom of uncertainty? Freedom of doubt? Freedom of guilt? It can be argued that one of those promised new freedoms is the freedom of choice. Hence in order to exercise this [...]
Tagged choice, freedom, responsibilityMy assumption is that the concept of information is crucial in this context. In the molecular genetic perspective, information at the same time serves as the ‘code of life’ and as the ‘key to freedom’. If the body is nothing other than a genetic program, then disease points to a communication problem. However, this means [...]
Tagged code, freedom, information, responsibility