Re: A medical Pandora's box

[Guest guest]

It won't just be autism either. Cystic Fibrosis, Type 1 Diabetes, all manner of other things could be added to the list.

Still, what I think will be the real Pandora's Box will be in a few years when they can make an embryo from scratch and be able to inseminate a woman with it. That would mean custom designed babies down to eye and hair color and who knows what else.

That could lead to some interesting things though. In some fiction I have read, there have been children created like this to their parent's whim. Needless to say, the kids weren't always happy with how they turned out. So, imagine a major fan of someone like Marilyn Manson who designed kids with freaky skin, hair and eyes. I can't imagine that kid would enjoy life, but it could happen in another 10 to 15 years.

In a message dated 1/14/2008 12:31:45 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, no_reply writes:

http://www.canada.com/calgaryherald/news/theeditorialpage/story.html?id=f44c994a-54d1-4e1c-b772-42b8e4e491a9A medical Pandora's boxDNA testing for autism opens doors to selective abortionsCalgary HeraldPublished: Sunday, January 13, 2008Medical advancements hailed as long-awaited breakthroughs often come with a sobering ethical flip side. Also, all too often, the advancements come before the debate on their accompanying ethics has begun.Researchers at the Autism Consortium in Boston, as well as at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, have located a chromosomal link to autism that could lead to genetic testing for the disorder.The Boston group found that children with a duplicated or missing segment of chromosome 16, which appears to control certain brain functions, have a risk for autism 100 times greater than normal. The Toronto researchers plan to offer DNA testing as soon as they can.While a DNA test done on a newborn baby would be of tremendous benefit in obtaining early intervention and therapy for the child, thus fostering a much better outcome, the test could also determine if a fetus is affected. That opens up a Pandora's box of potential for selective abortion of these fetuses.Autism is not just one condition; it is a wide gamut of them, with not only a broad range of symptoms of communications and social dysfunctions, but within that range of symptoms, there are also wide degrees of impairment.At the higher functioning end of the autism spectrum are individuals with Asperger's syndrome and, while they often suffer various social impairments, they are usually highly intelligent and productive people. For example, some scientists think that Mozart's unsurpassed musical genius was an indication that he may have been autistic.The danger with a prenatal test is that it will create a situation in which the value of an individual's life will be determined based on assumptions about his or her cognitive functions.It is not just that future Mozarts could be terminated, but that the value of any person lies in his or her intrinsic humanity, not in gradations of intellectual ability or chromosomal misfirings.The richness and joy that an individual brings to his or her family, friends and the larger world are measured not by intelligence levels, cognitive disabilities or any other limitation. The only thing that counts is the uniqueness of that person, made up of all the traits and qualities that have never been found in any other human in just such a combination.The runaway pace of medical technology will force us to decide what kind of society we want -- one where each individual has inviolable value, or one where the vulnerable who are most in need of our care and concern are weeded out because we can't see past their "defects" to the person beneath.The debate can be put off no longer. Start the year off right. Easy ways to stay in shape in the new year.

[Guest guest]

wrote: " ... <snip> ... Still, what I think will be the real

Pandora's Box will be in a few years when they can make an embryo

from scratch and be able to inseminate a woman with it. That would

mean custom designed babies down to eye and hair color and who knows

what else ... <snip> ... "

There was a movie put out in 1997 entitled " Gattaca " that dealt with

this very subject! I gave a copy of the movie to and it

resonated with him just as it had with me when I first saw the movie.

It's definitely worth renting from the local video store or

purchasing a copy for your own DVD library.

To read a little about it, copy and paste this link into your browser:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119177/

Terrifying accurate prediction about the future coupled with

embracing the uniqueness of the individual as each individual was

intended to be.

Raven

Co-Administrator