11-11-2012, 08:51 PM
(11-11-2012, 06:09 PM)FireIceTalon Wrote: There is no guarantee this would ever be available for anyone but the wealthy, and even if it came to be, the damage could already be done by the time it becomes available for the rest of society. A genetic elite is about the last thing we need.
The same argument can be made against any improvement in welfare. Education was (and to some extent, still is) only for the wealthy. It created an elite. And yet, do we say education is bad? Advanced medicine was (and also still is) only for the wealthy. And yet, do we say medicine is bad?
No. Instead, we say that it should be available for everyone. So, why not do that instead?
Quote:In some countries it is been deliberately used to make more male children than female - so people are already misusing it.
That requires nothing more than an ultrasound and a coathanger. Surely this is not relevant for a discussion of genetic engineering?
Quote:Right off the bat they are not even giving me a chance to be my natural self.
What is your "natural self"? Is that a thing? I can't point to it. If I was left without serious medical intervention as a child, odds are I'd be dead. So would most of us, looking at "natural" rates of child mortality Insofar as I have a natural self, that's it, a dead guy. Why is intervention at the genetic level any different? You are not your genes, any more than twins are the same person.
Quote:And again, what about the genetic risks? Some parents may just want something as simple as their child having the same eye color as they do, but changing any gene has potential consequences that are unpredictable, and once done, likely unchangeable.
So? We've taken a thousand steps that are unchangeable and unpredictable. Do you think we could predict what would happen when we invented fire? The plow? The railroad? Atomic power? The internet? No. But we did it anyway. We learn and adapt - that's what we're best at.
For the moment, we do not know how to make genetic alterations heritable. So the consequences are quite restricted.
-Jester