My Sister's Keeper
Do you think it is ethical to design and conceive a child that meets specific genetic requirements? o If so, is PGD ethical in all cases? (prevent miscarriages, prevent inheritable genetic diseases, sex selection for social reasons, etc). o If not, do you believe there should be specific exceptions - such as saving another person's life - or is this just a "slippery slope"?
PGD is known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosing. I do not think it is ethical to design and conceive a child that meets specific genetic requirements. I do not feel that this is an ethical reason to conceive a child. Rather, I believe all children should be seen as blessings or gifts, not sacrificial genetic progeny.
However, in cases where PGD is being utilized to benefit the well-being of a person’s overall health, I believe there are some ethical cases to utilize PGD. For example, ethical cases such as to prevent miscarriages or inheritable genetic diseases.
Knowing what you now know about PGD, do you agree with the parent's choice to "design" Anna to save Kate?
Knowing what I now know about PGD, I do not agree with the parent’s choice to “design” Anna to save Kate for numerous reasons. Anna, created in vitro, was “designed” to be a duplication of her sister Kate. Kate had acute promyelocytic leukemia which consequently destroyed her kidneys. She was specifically born to be a willing sufferer for her sister. Anna had no say in whether she wanted to be a store of spare parts for her sister or not. The main reason I disagree with the parent’s choice to “design” Anna is because I believe no person should be forced to sacrifice his or her own body parts. No human should be created specifically for sacrificial reasons. I feel, just as Anna did, that she should have the right to her own body.
Is it ethically okay to screen embryos for desired genetic traits, and reject the "undesired" embryos?
To an extent, I feel it is okay to screen embryos for desired traits
PGD is known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosing. I do not think it is ethical to design and conceive a child that meets specific genetic requirements. I do not feel that this is an ethical reason to conceive a child. Rather, I believe all children should be seen as blessings or gifts, not sacrificial genetic progeny.
However, in cases where PGD is being utilized to benefit the well-being of a person’s overall health, I believe there are some ethical cases to utilize PGD. For example, ethical cases such as to prevent miscarriages or inheritable genetic diseases.
Knowing what you now know about PGD, do you agree with the parent's choice to "design" Anna to save Kate?
Knowing what I now know about PGD, I do not agree with the parent’s choice to “design” Anna to save Kate for numerous reasons. Anna, created in vitro, was “designed” to be a duplication of her sister Kate. Kate had acute promyelocytic leukemia which consequently destroyed her kidneys. She was specifically born to be a willing sufferer for her sister. Anna had no say in whether she wanted to be a store of spare parts for her sister or not. The main reason I disagree with the parent’s choice to “design” Anna is because I believe no person should be forced to sacrifice his or her own body parts. No human should be created specifically for sacrificial reasons. I feel, just as Anna did, that she should have the right to her own body.
Is it ethically okay to screen embryos for desired genetic traits, and reject the "undesired" embryos?
To an extent, I feel it is okay to screen embryos for desired traits