Prenatal Genetic Selection Essay

Has science gone too far?
“Multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.” Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species. This quote is one of the greatest scientists and thinkers in human history. It refers to natural selection and evolution, but what will happen if simply the words vary is taken away? The quote takes on a much more sinister meaning. When the ability to simply vary genetically is taken away, it creates turmoil in the social construct of our lives and in our society in general. No longer can there be the miracle of mutations and combinations of alleles in the genetic makeup of a single person. The determining factors in how they look, feel, and act are suddenly able to be predestined without consent or the control of the one being changed (Codington-Lacerte). That is why while the concept of prenatal genetic selection is intriguing, the ethical problems and implications make it an unviable option. …show more content…
One claim made is that it could be used to increase the healthy birth rate in children (Codington-Lacerte). The use of prenatal genetic selection could also be used to decrease diseases (Codington-Lacerte). With genetic selection the sex of the baby could also be determined by the parents. In places such as India or china, where some babies are killed because of their sex, it could allow for less infant deaths (King). With sex selection as an option societies could reach a sexual equilibrium, or an even ratio of males to females (King). The makeup of families is also something parents would now have control of. The parents of the child could make decisions for their children and for how their families would be made up (Codington-Lacerte). Parents could also influence the look or demeanor of the child. They could create the child they wanted instead of the one they would normally have been dealt by chance