Do We Use Genetic Testing Ethically To Improve Society?

The technology surrounding genetic control has advanced tremendously in the last few decades. Chapter 3 in the Bioethics book discusses the issues involved in the testing of genes associated with various diseases. How the identification of these disease causing genes and the diagnoses of prenatal disease inclinations can be used ethically to improve society is called into question. The main question with using genetic tests to improve society is whether there is a priority in the autonomy of the individual or in the betterment of humankind. For instance, supporters of procreative beneficence and selective abortions say that people have an obligation to produce the best children possible. Using prenatal genetic diagnosis tests to discover what diseases an infant is predisposed to, these supporters would want those with “bad” embryos to terminate them. Others disagree with this usage of the tests since the autonomy of the unborn fetuses and those who want to give birth to impaired infants would be disregarded.
Those who believe people are obliged to give birth to the best infants possible, however, support abortions. There is a lot of disagreement over the ethicality of using these prenatal diagnosis tests. Despite the possible benefits genetic testing has, with its progress comes many concerns with how it will be used. Those who want to use it for the benefit of society disagree with how that can be done, and whether autonomy should be prioritized. Chapter 3 in the bioethics book showcases all sides of this dispute, and explores how genetic control can be used in an ethical way to improve the lives of different