Improving our DNA
Though
many religious ethicists agree that some forms of gene therapy
(e.g. somatic therapy) could be beneficial, enhancement through
germline engineering raises cautions about protecting human dignity.
The
primary caution raised has to do with our lack of knowledge regarding
the possible consequences of altering the human germline. The
problem is that the present generation lacks sufficient information
regarding the long-term consequences of a decision today that
might turn out to be irreversible tomorrow.
Another
reason for caution regarding germline enhancement, especially
among Protestants, is the specter of eugenics. The word “eugenics”
connotes the ghastly racial policies of Nazism, and this accounts
for much of today’s mistrust of genetic science in Germany
and elsewhere. No one expects a resurrection of the Nazi
nightmare; yet some critics fear a subtle form of eugenics slipping
in the cultural "back door."The growing power to control the design of living tissue will
foster the emergence of the image of the “perfect child,”
and a new social value of perfection will begin to oppress all
those who fall short. Although the perfect child syndrome is not
yet widely discussed in the published literature, religious ethicists
speaking in March, 1992, at the “Genetics, Religion and Ethics
Conference,” held at the Texas Medical Center in Houston,
saw the image of the “perfect child” to be a clear and
present danger.
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| Contributed by: Dr. Ted Peters
|
