Posted by Camille Dumont on May 30, 2005, at 22:57:33
In reply to Re: Whats wrong with stem cell research, posted by Nickengland on May 29, 2005, at 4:51:23
> I dont see a problem with stem cell research for servere life threatening illness(s)
>
> However there are some iussues with stem cell research that cause alot of controversial agruements and quite rightly so.
>
> These arguements are about the issues of so called "designer babies"...being able to choose your childs eye colour, hair colour, their intelligence levels etc.. This is where the research drifts from the point of helping people to have healthy babies which are free of serious illness, to then taking the reseach to the level of a "fashion" baby.
>
> This is where people would begin to play god in my opinion. How far do you go with this reseach and the benefits it can bring to society?
>
> The worst thing that could happen is repeat of history in a sense of the Nazis...improving a race of people and exterminating the inperfect??...hmm
>
> Only time will tell what happens in the future, the benefits of eradicating serious illness though is definately a good idea, I don't see how anyone could disagree that, just depends how far they push the reseach.I think there is a deeper issue at play. In a way, modern medecine "is" playing god ... we help people survive, people who, given their injuries, would not.
When we "cure" diseases, are we not trying to erradicate "imperfections" or all sorts? Where does the "disease" or "disorder" stop and when does it become just an issue of "design".
We do "treat" things that are not life threatening ... me for example, I was born with an endocrine defficiency which made me a normally proportionned ... only smaller. I would have been 4'7" had I not received growth hormones. Was that a "disorder"?
I would have survived without the treatment, I probably would not have had adverse effects beyond social ones. Yet, it was deemed that it was prefferable that I be treated and made to be taller to be more "normal" ... but its all relative.
poster:Camille Dumont
thread:504387
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20050509/msgs/505567.html