Ethics Committee: Genetic Choices

Pre-Discussion Question Due BEFORE class 

Read Cases 2 and 3 from the textbook on p. 558 and “Imbeciles” from The Gene: An Intimate History

  1. Case 2: It is permissible or right to deliberately select an embryo for a baby that will be deaf? Justify your answer.
  2. Case 3: Should prospective parents be permitted to screen their embryos for purely cosmetic reasons? Justify your answer.
  3. Imbeciles: Write a paragraph on the relevance, if any, of this reading to the issue of embryo selection and genetic engineering of embryos with genetic markers for disability. Did this reading affect your views in any way?

In-Class Discussion Questions

General:

  1. What are 4 (non-ethical) issues with genetic testing?
  2. A physician looks at his patient’s genetic test. It shows they have Huntington’s disease. When consulting with the patient, they ask them if they will notify their siblings (also the physician’s patients) who would have a 1 in 4 chance of also having the disease. The patient says she won’t. What two duties are in conflict for the physician?
  3. When the two duties in question 2 conflict, how does a consequentialist decide which to keep and which to break?
  4. What two arguments are often cited against selective abortion and selecting against disability?

Case 2:

  1. Is it right or permissible to deliberately select an embryo that will be deaf (from healthy non-deaf embryos) and thereby limit her opportunities in life? Defend your answer with reasons and arguments.
  2. How would someone who opposes your view reply? What would their argument be?
  3. How would you reply to the argument in (2)? Do NOT simply repeat your argument. Identify which of their premises you think is false OR which of their inferences is weak.
  4. Should the government restrict the use of IVF or PGD to selecting only healthy embryos? Should government impose any restrictions on selecting embryos with genetic diseases or disabilities?
  5. How does the reading on Imbeciles bear on this case?

Case 3:

  1. Should prospective parents be permitted to screen their embryos for purely cosmetic reasons? Defend your position with reasons and argument.
  2. How would someone who opposes your view reply? What would their argument be?
  3. How would you reply to the argument in 2? Do NOT simply repeat your argument. Identify which of their premises you think is false OR which of their inferences is weak.
  4. Is there a moral difference between embryo selection against severe disabilities and embryo selection that cause a child to suffer psychological distress or social discrimination? Justify your answer.
  5. Is there a moral difference between embryo selection against severe disabilities and embryo selection for eye color or hair color? Defend your answer.