I will be analyzing Laura M. Purdy’s essay on “Genetics and Reproductive Risk” and Jeff McMahan’s essay “The morality of screening for disability”. It is now possible to check for genetic disorders by looking for changes in the person’s DNA. It is known as the power of genetic testing, which now includes over a thousand tests designed to detect disease, a number that is projected to increase by the hundreds in the next few years. If this process is not chosen the person with the disease may be subjected to genetic discrimination. Genetic discrimination involves the use of genetic information by employers, insurance companies, and others to discriminate against or stigmatize people. After detecting the disease incredible repair work can done
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She contends that it is morally wrong to reproduce when we know there is a high risk of transmitting serious disease or defect. This birth of this child can be prevented by aborting or by preventing conception at all. She then argues that conception is permissible if one is willing to undergo prenatal screening and abortion if necessary, but if someone is not willing to do this, then it is wrong to conceive a child. In her essay, she describes a clear case of a serious disease using Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant disease, meaning that it is caused by a single defective gene located on the non-sex chromosome. Symptoms such as impairment of attention, inability to walk, and dysphagia begin between the ages of thirty and fifty years of age. The illness lasts around 15 years and ends in death. There are tests to determine whether one carries the gene responsible for the disease and prenatal screening can determine whether a fetus has inherited the gene. Purdy’s argument is fixated on the principle that we should try to provide every child with something like a “minimally satisfying life”. It should be the parent’s duty to try to ensure that their children health is normal for their
She contends that it is morally wrong to reproduce when we know there is a high risk of transmitting serious disease or defect. This birth of this child can be prevented by aborting or by preventing conception at all. She then argues that conception is permissible if one is willing to undergo prenatal screening and abortion if necessary, but if someone is not willing to do this, then it is wrong to conceive a child. In her essay, she describes a clear case of a serious disease using Huntington’s disease. Huntington’s disease is an autosomal dominant disease, meaning that it is caused by a single defective gene located on the non-sex chromosome. Symptoms such as impairment of attention, inability to walk, and dysphagia begin between the ages of thirty and fifty years of age. The illness lasts around 15 years and ends in death. There are tests to determine whether one carries the gene responsible for the disease and prenatal screening can determine whether a fetus has inherited the gene. Purdy’s argument is fixated on the principle that we should try to provide every child with something like a “minimally satisfying life”. It should be the parent’s duty to try to ensure that their children health is normal for their