Module 8
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 problem:

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.

Compose your work using a word processor and save it, as a Plain Text or an .rtf, to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, please click on the "Create Thread" button and copy/paste the text from your document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Your work will be evaluated using the SHS Discussion Rubric.
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M8D3: EXTRA CREDIT DISCUSSION - Breaching the G-d Frontier? Module 8


Your reading for this activity introduces you to many of the issues surrounding synthetic biology, including policy, government funding, safety, intellectual freedom--and primarily--ethics. As the ethical stewards of our next generations, it is important to keep all of these issues in mind when engaging in ethical deliberation regarding how best to move forward. Important to the evaluation is the careful analysis of each of the concerns. The principles of bioethics that we have used throughout the course are a good starting point for evaluating each concern, and may help us at least engage the problem of whether we are ready to introduce these new discoveries. Regardless of the position you take, critical to the discussion is how best to allow or restrict such developments for the well-being of our current and future population. Perhaps unlike any other topic we have addressed, Synthetic Biology requires dialog and agreement across all populations, foreign and domestic, for once the "Genie is out of the bottle," mankind itself may be distinctly altered. 

With few exceptions, Stem Cell Research and Human Cloning aside, our society has not addressed ethical concerns of technological advancements proactively. Typically, we respond in a reactionary mode, trying to back-peddle and retrofit our laws and understandings, while trying to restrain efforts that are already entrenched in everyday practice. In 2010, the President's Council on Bioethics commended President Obama's proactive step in requesting a review of synthetic biology, and the ethical and sociological impacts for society should the technology become ingrained in mainstream science. While the Commission promotes a cautionary stance with respect to both moving forward or curtailing development, perhaps our willingness to evaluate the problem at the forefront illustrates an evolved understanding that the axiom "just because we can, does not mean we should" requires consideration.

Read or view the assigned material and then participate in the module activity:

•Module notes 
•Textbook pages 
•Savulescu , J. (2012, 04 12). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://citationmachine.net/index2.php?reqstyleid=2&mode=form&reqsrcid=APAweblog&srcCode=12&more=yes&nameCnt=1 
•Suggested: 
?Parens, E., Johnston, J., & Moses, J. (n.d.). Ethical issues in synthetic biology synthetic biology project / synbio 3 synbio 3 / june 2009 an overview of the debates. (2009). Synthetic Biology Project, (3), 1-36.
Although the entire project article is valuable and informative reading, the following pages provide excellent insight into the ethical conundrums raised by Synthetic Biology: 3-5;12-36. 
For our last module problem, you are an ethicist in the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. You and the other members have been asked to assess whether we are ready to embrace a technology that allows us to manipulate existing DNA to create and introduce new organisms into our environment. As you consider the issues, debates and conundrums juxtaposed against the range of issues you have covered over the past eight weeks, discuss whether you agree or disagree that we have learned enough from an ethical perspective to breach this 'new frontier"? Remember to include the justifications from ethical analysis or theory for your response, rather than simply providing an opinion.

Compose your work using a word processor and save it, as a Plain Text or an .rtf, to your computer. When you're ready to make your initial posting, please click on the "Create Thread" button and copy/paste the text from your document into the message field. Be sure to check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors before you post it.

Your work will be evaluated using the SHS Discussion Rubric.

Required minimum-2 page