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Updated: Jul 29, 2026
FISH for Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis
Published on: February 23, 2011
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis: choosing the "good enough" child
1Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, London, United Kingdom. h.watt@linacre.org
Insights
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) challenges unconditional parental acceptance. This genetic screening may harm the parent-child bond by allowing embryo rejection based on genetic traits.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Reproductive Technology
- Moral Philosophy
Background:
- Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) involves screening embryos for genetic conditions before implantation.
- The moral status of human embryos and the ethics of reproductive technologies are subjects of ongoing debate.
- Parental acceptance and the nature of the parent-child relationship are central to discussions on PGD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the moral implications of PGD on the parent-child relationship.
- To argue that principles of unconditional acceptance should extend to human embryos.
- To analyze the ethical consistency of prenatal screening versus post-natal parental obligations.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation
- Ethical analysis
- Conceptual analysis of moral principles
Main Results:
- PGD raises moral concerns by potentially undermining unconditional parental commitment.
- Embryos, as nascent human moral subjects, possess rights against rejection based on genetic profiles.
- PGD may create a moral inconsistency in parental expectations between the prenatal and post-natal stages.
Conclusions:
- PGD's practice of embryo selection based on genetic traits conflicts with the ideal of unconditional parental love.
- Extending moral consideration to embryos is crucial for maintaining ethical consistency in reproductive practices.
- Ethical guidelines for PGD should prioritize the inherent value of each potential human life and the integrity of the parent-child relationship.
Abstract:
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) raises serious moral questions concerning the parent-child relationship. Good parents accept their children unconditionally: they do not reject/attack them because they do not have the features they want. There is nothing wrong with treating a child as someone who can help promote some other worthwhile end, providing the child is also respected as an end in him or herself. However, if the child's presence is not valued in itself, regardless of any further benefits it brings, the child is not being treated as an end in the full sense of the term, in this paper, I argue that these principles apply to human embryos, as well as to born human offspring: the human moral subject is a bodily being, whose interests and rights begin with the onset of his or her bodily life. The rights of the living, bodily human individual include a righ not to be attacked/abandoned because of his or her genetic profile. PGD is harmful to the parent-child relationship, and we give mixed messages to parents by expecting them to show unconditional commitment to offspring after birth, while inviting them to take a very different approach at the prenatal stage.
