Ethical Risks Of Genetic Screening Might Be 'Less Troublesome Than They First Appear,' Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Genetics
Also Included In: Breast Cancer
Article Date: 16 Apr 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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The United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority's July 2007 decision to allow two families to use in vitro fertilization and preimplantation genetic diagnosis to avoid a potential genetic risk of developing breast cancer is a "sign of things to come" and "not necessarily a bad sign," Ronald Green, professor of ethics at Dartmouth College, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

Critics of the decision believe HFEA "crossed a bright line separating legitimate medical genetics from the quest for 'the perfect baby,'" Green writes. He adds that many bioethicists also have voiced concerns about reproductive genetics, including the effect of genetic selection on parenting and whether the technology will "diminish our freedom by making us creatures of our genes or our parents' whims." Some ethicists are concerned about the technology's religious implications, and others are concerned it will "widen our social divisions as the affluent 'buy' more competitive abilities for their offspring," Green writes.

Although the social implications of reproductive genetics are "worrisome," the technology could also be used to understand genetic causes of various genetic diseases, cognitive problems, as well as "become a tool for reducing the class divide," according to Green. In addition, couples who "hope for a healthy child but have one born with disabilities tend to love that child ferociously," Green notes. All "biblically derived faiths permit human beings to improve on nature using technology," so [w]hy not improve our genome?" he asks.

The science of genetic screening "is racing toward a future in which foreseeable improvements include reduced susceptibility to a host of diseases, increased life span" and "better cognitive functioning," according to Green. Critics' concerns about the technology might be "less troublesome than they first appear," Green writes, adding that the "challenge is to see that we don't also unleash the demons of discrimination and oppression" (Green, Washington Post, 4/13).

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