Today’s topic comes from QSFer Aidee Ladnier:
“We’ve all heard the scare tactics of politicians warning of the dangers of designer babies, but genetically modified humans are literally due to be born in the next decade. Medical science has made our lives longer and healthier.
“But what if scientists modify those things that make us fundamentally who we are? Why is it okay to make sure a child is not born with a genetic disease that will kill them prematurely (like cystic fibrosis) but not okay to give an child a higher IQ which would give it a better chance at success in academic endeavors.
“And then there’s the whole conundrum of controversial subjects like preferred eye color, preferred skin color, and possibly even preferred sexual orientation. Will societies of the future try to homogenize everyone if given the scientific ability to do so instead of learning to accept diversity among its population?”
Here’s the article that spurred this topic:
http://www.nature.com/news/chinese-scientists-genetically-modify-human-embryos-1.17378?WT.mc_id=TWT_NatureNews
Aidee has some great questions – what do y’all think?