Question: In 2003, a popular book and subsequent movie My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult, generated much table talk conversation regarding the rights of children conceived as savior siblings- tissue and bone marrow donors-for an existing child dying of cancer or other incurable disease. Although a work of fiction, the story provides good insight into the ethical dilemmas experienced by all, when a savior sibling is forced to undergo invasive medical treatments intended solely for the benefit of the dying sibling. While the statistics on the number of children conceived to save a dying sibling are inconsistent, the practice has been around since the 1980s.
Sibling donation is only one such application of PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) and embryo selection. More problematic for some are the instances when parents with a specific disability, such as deafness or Hypopituitary dwarfism, have specifically contracted for embryos that would most likely inherit the gene mutation responsible for either condition. While the cases are few, they do exist, raising ethical debate as to the rights of a child to a best possible future. On the one side are those who define the best possible future, as an "open future", one without the engineered disabling condition. On the other side are the parents who believe that the disability is only a disability for those unwilling to accept and accommodate differences. In defense of such parental requests, there is argument that raising a child in the culture and tight-knit communities experienced by the parents provides enhanced, rather than reduced value for the child.
Some believe that PGD is yet another form of eugenics, as the intentional manipulation of cells or abortion of embryos carrying undesirable traits is discriminatory and will influence future populations. For others, the concerns are overridden by the value of the application, such as the ability to screen for and potentially eradicate deadly diseases. Perhaps most ethically alarming is the real possibility that PGD may soon be used to design embryos specifically engineered for intelligence, musical talent or some other subjectively valued trait.
Read or view the assigned material and then participate in the module activitiy:
- Module notes
- Textbook pages
- Koops, B. (2011). THE CASE FOR EMBRYO SELECTION. Law, Innovation & Technology, 3(1), 167-175.
Please discuss the following question:
- If a couple is aware that they are at a high risk for producing a child that will suffer from an untreatable and life-threatening disease, such as Tay-Sachs or Huntington's Disease, do the parents have an ethical duty not to reproduce? Why or Why not? Remember to justify your response using the ethical theories or principles that you considered in your analysis.