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Shaping children through genetic and environmental means.
Christopher Gyngell1,2, Tamara Kayali Browne3,4
1Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Parkville, Victoria, Australia christopher.gyngell@mcri.edu.au.
Journal of Medical Ethics
|December 30, 2023
Summary
This paper challenges the idea that genetic shaping of children is morally different from environmental shaping. It argues that neither method necessarily creates a negative asymmetry in the parent-child relationship.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Philosophy of Medicine
- Reproductive Ethics
Background:
- Anca Gheaus posits a moral distinction between parental genetic and environmental shaping of children.
- Gheaus claims genetic shaping creates a negative asymmetry in the child-caregiver relationship, unlike environmental shaping.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critique Gheaus' argument regarding the moral difference between genetic and environmental shaping.
- To analyze the ethical implications of parental genetic and environmental interventions on the parent-child dynamic.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
- Critique of existing ethical arguments on parental enhancement.
- Examination of the concept of asymmetry in power relations.
Main Results:
- Gheaus' argument fails to establish a moral difference between genetic and environmental shaping.
- The introduction of inequality via genetic or pre-birth shaping is not inherently negative.
- Refraining from genetic shaping technology may not benefit the child.
Conclusions:
- There is no inherent moral distinction between parental genetic and environmental shaping.
- The ethical assessment of parental shaping should consider context rather than method.
- Parental enhancement technologies do not necessarily harm the child-caregiver relationship.
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