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One technology that has caused concern among many religious
believers - and also among non-believers - is genetic screening. Many people
fear that this technology will be used in inappropriate or even immoral ways,
and that it will lead to unethical and inequitable situations. These fears are
not without foundation. In the 1970's, when the gene for sickle cell anemia was
identified, men who tested positive for the gene were barred from entry to the
U.S. Air Force Academy. A 1996 survey showed that genetic discrimination in
employment was on the rise. In one case a social worker was abruptly dismissed
when her employer discovered she was at risk from developing Huntington's
disease. In 1989 an extensive survey of US employers conducted by the
Northwestern Life Insurance Company revealed that 15 percent planned to
introduce genetic screening of prospective employees by the year 2000.
The prospect of widespread genetic screening also raises
dilemmas about the value of human life. If, for example, fetuses could be tested
for ALS (or motor neurone disease) - a severe wasting disease that usually sets
in during early adulthood and usually kills patients within a few years - then
would you want to abort a fetus with the relevant genes? Many people might do
so. But if all such babies were aborted Stephen Hawking would not have been
born. Hawking, who contracted ALS in his early twenties is a very unusual case
of someone who has lived with the disease for over 30 years. But what about an
illness like Tay Sachs disease? Children born with this genetic abnormality
rarely live more than a few years and often go through extreme pain. Is such a
life worth living? And what about fetuses with the genetic trait of an XX
chromosome pair? Already these prospective children are being aborted in great
numbers around the world. Again, there are no easy answers here. Science is
taking us into new areas that are challenging us to confront complex and
difficult ethical dilemmas. In discussions about how to deal with these
challenges religious people can also be involved.
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| Contributed by: Margaret Wertheim
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