Eugenics?

First, wash that bitter taste out of your mouth that the mere mention of that word seems to instill in everyone.

Not only are we ALREADY doing it, we've been doing it for thousands of years with arranged marriages, culling unwanted or undesirable children and parents, and imprisoning people we don't want to breed anymore because they are criminals.

Sure we haven't called it eugenics, but it has had the same effect. Countless numbers of daughters, sons unfit to work hard, mentally damaged children, physically undesirable children, or simply unwanted children have been terminated as infants over the last few thousand years. At the most basic level we are all participating in eugenics if we are able to choose our own mate. Consciously or subconsciously choices are being made that will affect the genetic disposition of any offspring.

In more modern times, however, we have more advanced techniques available. Clearly there is a certain point where almost everyone will draw a philosophical line and say, "That's not right." Where is that line?

Just for curiosity, consider a few scenarios listed below and see what you think.

1. Jill and Bob discover that Jill is infertile but they still want to have a baby and they have plenty of money and access to medical facilities. They put out several advertisements that they are seeking an egg donor, including,

"Seeking egg donor, must be at least 5'10", athletic, attractive, and have at least a 1400 score on SAT."

They're happy to pay for anyone who meets these qualifications to obtain the egg they want. Is this acceptable? Would it be acceptable to request the same sort of qualifications if it was a sperm donor?

Is it also okay for them to also request that the donor be blonde and white skinned?

2. Dan and Liz discover that Dan is infertile and still wanting to have children decide to use a sperm donor. Dan and Liz are African American and would very much prefer to have a black sperm donor over any other ethnicity. Is this preference acceptable?

3. Another infertile couple, Lucy and Bill are in need of a sperm donor. Both Lucy and Bill are deaf and they are proud of it and don't see it as a disability. Is it okay for them to request a deaf donor and then choose from amongst the donated genetic material to guarantee that they have a deaf offspring?

4. Lily and Gene both have achondroplasia, both are under 4 feet in height. They are both fertile and will have no problem producing children, but there is no guarantee that their children will share a similar stature. They are proud of their culture and do not feel that their height is in any way a disability and want to share this with any children they have. With medical selection of donated genetic material from each of them, they can choose to create an embryo that will share their stature. Should we use medical technology to make this possible?

5. Niobh and Jeff really want to have a boy, clearly we have the technology to make this happen, we don't even have to sort through embryos, sperm can simply be sorted into X and Y batches by weight avoiding the entire issue of choosing one embryo and discarding others. Is it appropriate to allow this sort of selection?

6. Judith is married to Dan and they want to have a baby. Judith's brother has Down Syndrome and growing up with her brother she felt was one of the sweetest and most enriching experiences of her life. She also felt that raising a special needs child really helped her parents to grow as people and she had run it by Dan and they both think it would be a great experience to raise a special needs child of their own. Should they be allowed to intentionally have a Down Syndrome child?

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Clearly some people will find these scenarios bizarre or even offensive, I have submitted them to be thought provoking, not to cause offense to anyone. However, if you are offended, tough shit, get a thicker skin, I'm more interested in philosophy than in pandering to peoples' tender sensibilities, just keep in mind that my goal was never to intentionally offend anyone.