Tuesday, July 18, 2006

BioTrek Rodeo


If you could select for traits in your children using PIGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis), would you want to do it? Which traits would you select for? Share your thoughts.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

If I had the money and ability to select traits for my children using PIGD, I would definetly not use that method. To me I think it is ok to modify my child if I knew they had some kind of disease, but changing the characteristics of my kid is a different thing. Using PIGD on my child means they are genetically modified and they are not natural. In some ways, it is a disadvantage to the whole and in some other ways it is a disadvantage to my child. Majority of the people aren't modified, and if they knew a child had some of these changes, they might be discriminated against. With the intellect that they are given, they might take it for granted and might not realize how hard it is to actual get to where they are. Say in the Olympics, it is unfair to other athletes when some others use drugs to enhance their performance. It is the same thing for people who are genetically modified, it is unfair to the rest of the people. Because of what they were given at birth, they might not be able to do some of the things that they want to do. People want to genetically modify their children for the better, but who knows what they will use their skills against in the future.

Anonymous said...

If I had the money and ability to select traits for my children using PIGD, I would definetly not use that method. To me I think it is ok to modify my child if I knew they had some kind of disease, but changing the characteristics of my kid is a different thing. Using PIGD on my child means they are genetically modified and they are not natural. In some ways, it is a disadvantage to the whole and in some other ways it is a disadvantage to my child. Majority of the people aren't modified, and if they knew a child had some of these changes, they might be discriminated against. With the intellect that they are given, they might take it for granted and might not realize how hard it is to actual get to where they are. Say in the Olympics, it is unfair to other athletes when some others use drugs to enhance their performance. It is the same thing for people who are genetically modified, it is unfair to the rest of the people. Because of what they were given at birth, they might not be able to do some of the things that they want to do. People want to genetically modify their children for the better, but who knows what they will use their skills against in the future.

Anonymous said...

I would only fix any genetic diseases that my children would inherit, but I would refrain from genetic enhancement of traits. I think there is a fine line between curing diseases and manipulating traits that improve a person's intelligence or athletic ability. I would love my children regardless of which traits they inherit, or if they are not the brightest or most athletic. I think if diseases can be cured before birth, then it is just like curing diseases after birth, so I see nothing wrong with this. But I do not agree with genetic enhancement, so I would use PIGD for some uses only.

Anonymous said...

I believe that having the ability to choose what kind of traits of genetically engineered being will bring an uproar in society in the near future probably a shift on what used to be a shift from the rich and the poor gap to the genetically engineered to the normal beings. Thus in order for people to compete against one another there will be much more room for much more crime, much more grief. Another thing that this world might bring about is if the risks of having any kind of disorder is 0% there will be an imbalance of natality vs mortality. Soon the world might even reach its maximum biotic capacity. This might sound very cruel, however disease kind of control of the population in control.

Anonymous said...

To Select, or not to Select, that IS the question...

I think that I would definately use PIGD to screen for genetic problems. However, the issue becomes more complex when we include selecting traits.

If I am completely honest, I have to say that to me, it sounds like a bad idea. What I mean is that I feel that it is.... wrong? Unnatural? "Playing God"? It just gives me the heebeejeebees... lol.

That said, I could easily see myself doing it anyways. If it had been possible to "improve" me before I was born, I would have appreciated it being done. In the same way, I would probably want to give my child as much of a "genetic boost" as possible.

This would only get worse as more and more people began to do it. It would no longer simply be a matter of making your child better than the others, because if it wasn't done, he/she would be inferior. A child conceived by a traditional birth could, as the movie shows well, be a victim of genetic discrimination.

So if this technology by which any traits could be modified becomes a reality, I think that there will be no stopping it. It is simply human nature to try and improve themselves and their progeny. Of course, that trait could eventually be changed as well...

-jeremy

Anonymous said...

I don't think that I would ever want to use PIGD to choose traits for my children. I feel that looking for a child with one particular trait is like looking for a person with a particular skin color for a job. It is like rejecting those that don't suit your likes and leaving them out. We've been taught since childhood to learn to accept the people that are different from us and like different things than we do and to embrace them. Using PIGD to select traits in your child is going completely against this thought. If in the future, the mindset of society becomes one where using PIGD to select children is a norm and an expectation, then we will create a "false world of perfection".

Anonymous said...

I can see the benefits of selecting for traits such as athletic ability, intelligence, etc. However, the wider societal implications must be considered when debating such a move. If this technology was used by a specific part of the population (wealthy families in civilized countries, for example), we would be creating a huge disparity between the "genetically superior" and the "unaugmented" population.
Consider past results of various disparities, such as race, class, and economic development between countries of the world. If we were to widen the gap even farther by selecting genetically superior humans in the population, we would be sentencing the rest of the world to a life of "inferiority" at the hands of the superior. It's basic human naure to believe that one is superior to others in any way. The world is full of this as it is; we do not need to contribute more to this volatile mix.

-Ian

Anonymous said...

I've been reading the comments posted, and I notice that many think that screening for genetic diseases is acceptable, but enhancing traits is not (this is my position as well). But I am curious how several that agree with this statement said they would leave the rest to chance because the child's traits would not change how much you love your child or it would take away the fun of having a child.

Since many would only screen for diseases, my question is would you love your child if he was born with a genetic disease? Some say they would not enhance traits because it is not the natural way, but then what makes disease screening any more natural? After all, you are still selecting against a life because of a genetic disease and saying that such a life is not worth living, and I think that is a big decision, so how would you justify it?

- Joseph

Anonymous said...

There is a line to be drawn in this issue; such as where it starts and where it ends when we've gone too far. Again, this is based on personal opinion about the issue.

As for me, traits are what we use to differentiate between people. Without traits produced by probability, and with everyone wanting the same genes in order to produce an ideal child, everyone will basically look the same. Well, again this is only my opinion.