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Selecting potential children and unconditional parental love.

John Davis1

  • 1California State University, Fullerton, California 92834-6868, USA. johndavis@fullerton.edu

Bioethics
|May 2, 2008
PubMed
Summary

Genetic selection for children, termed selection drift, is ethically compatible with unconditional parental love. This approach actually supports selecting the best genetic endowments for future children.

Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Reproductive Genetics
  • Philosophy of Medicine

Background:

  • Current methods for selecting a child's genes involve genetic testing, selective abortion, gamete donation, and embryo selection.
  • The concept of 'selection drift' describes a rising standard for acceptable children due to preferences for certain genetic traits.
  • The parental love objection posits that selecting children based on genetic traits undermines unconditional love for existing children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the ethical compatibility of selection drift with unconditional parental love.
  • To argue that unconditional parental love may, in fact, necessitate practicing selection drift.
  • To explore the implications of genetic endowment selection and the nonidentity problem.

Main Methods:

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  • Philosophical argumentation analyzing the concept of unconditional parental love.
  • Development of an 'endowment argument' by drawing an analogy between financial and genetic endowments.
  • Examination of ethical objections, including the parental love objection and the nonidentity problem.

    • Main Results:

    • Selection drift is not inconsistent with the ideal of unconditional parental love.
    • Unconditional parental love implies a moral imperative to select potential children with the best possible genetic endowments.
    • The endowment argument provides a framework for understanding the ethical considerations of genetic selection prior to conception.

    Conclusions:

    • Practicing selection drift aligns with, and is supported by, the principle of unconditional parental love.
    • Parents have a moral reason to select for superior genetic endowments when possible, analogous to providing financial endowments.
    • Further programmatic considerations regarding the nonidentity problem are necessary for a complete ethical analysis.