Selecting the Next Generation
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Selecting the Next Generation Alberto Cordero1 Received: 2 August 2020 / Accepted: 29 August 2020 Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract This paper discusses one area of the interface between science and ethics: the genetic manipulation and design of human beings. Genetic interventions are an increasingly powerful eugenic resource, but they raise ethical suspicions. Critics condemn them, alleging severe negative consequences for society and the manipulated individuals involved. I analyze some influential general arguments (consequentialist and non-consequentialist) proposed against artificially selecting the next generation and conclude that the arguments are insufficient to cast blanket prohibitions against genetic interventions. Eugenic projects are compatible in principle with the pursuit of dignity, freedom, and tolerance at the individual and social levels. The ethical challenges raised by genetic interventions are real and vital. Still, it seems more ethically beneficial to approach them piecemeal through public-level arguments informed by science and specific to the cases encountered. Keywords Eugenics Science and ethics Human nature Habermas on freedom Equality Dignity
1 Introduction A well-subscribed school of thought considers unethical the use of techniques to design and produce children with desirable qualities. The issues involved are conceptually difficult and invite emotional responses. An illustrative case is Sharon Duchesneau and Candy McCullough, a Californian couple who sought help to have a deaf baby. Sharon and Candy, both deaf and lesbian, wanted to have a child like them. So, they asked a friend with five generations of deafness in his family to donate sperm. With the latter’s help, they had a daughter, and 5 years later, a son. The two children turned out deaf, as wished. When the case emerged on the news in & Alberto Cordero [email protected] 1
CUNY Graduate Center and Queens College CUNY, The City University of New York, New York, USA
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2002, there was massive public disapproval. Debates ensued. The controversial mothers were ready for it. Sharon has a degree in medical ethics from the University of Virginia. She and Candy said they consider themselves part of a generation that sees deafness not as a disability but as a cultural identity. Most people find it abhorrent to deliberately set limits to a child’s potential, but Sharon and Candy stood their ground. Their case gives just one example of how parental attempts to select desired traits in their offspring can conflict with prevailing moral ideas in society. Selection efforts have grown more intense and controversial with the development of genetic engineering in recent decades. From the 1970s, several technologies have been developed that can modify the genetic makeup of the next generation. Available procedures now offer considerable control over inheritance. This is most noticeable in areas like gene editing, in vitro spermatogenesis and oogenesis, gamete sel
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