Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Does the ability to prevent implanting an embryo that would develop a disability or disease suggest that persons with disabilities should not be born?
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22 comments:

  1. Gloria MSeptember 30, 2010 at 11:03 AM

    Although I personally think this does not suggest that persons with disabilities or diseases should not be born because it is a way to prevent the future suffering of a human, I can see why one might think it does. Putting oneself in the place of a diseased or disabled person and seeing the elimination of the existence similar people in the future might make the person feel unwanted in society. On the other hand, the person might be in favor of the procedure because they understand the suffering entailed in the disease or disability and want to prevent other people from suffering.

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  2. TanyaOctober 2, 2010 at 9:30 AM

    I'm really not sure where I stand on this because I feel that it's easier for the parents to have a healthy baby as well as the fact that the disabled child would'nt have to suffer. However, I dont think that we have the right to determine who gets the opportunity to live and who doesn't. And if we are making that desicion, then aren't we prejudiced by judging based on health conditions? I feel that's kind of the same logic Hitler had when he tried to kill all who in his eyes were 'defective'. But then again, because we live in such a competitive world, having a disabilty would most likely ruin one's chances of being successful. There's a lot to consider and I seriously don't really know if there's a right answer and to be quite honest I'm even sure if I would agree to having a defective embryo implanted in me if I knew that I had other options.

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  3. faithbendelowOctober 5, 2010 at 8:37 PM

    You know what? I've never even been close to pregnant. I have absolutely no experiential knowledge when it comes to carrying, birthing, and most importantly raising babies, sick or healthy. So maybe this is an over-simplification but....

    Say you really want ice-cream and there's vanilla or chocolate. You prefer chocolate, and let's be honest, who doesn't? So that's what you order. By no means does this suggest that the very existence of vanilla is unnecessary or unimportant. On the contrary, vanilla gives you something to contrast your chocolate against, broadens your palette. And if the creamery's all out of chocolate, I would personally opt for vanilla in a heartbeat.

    Just as vanilla ice cream is better than no ice cream at all, babies are better than no babies. Life, even if it's missing fingers or brain function or longevity or superficial beauty, totally beats the absence of life.

    It's not that society doesn't want those with disabilities, it's just that they do want those who are healthy. (if that makes any sense at all)

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  4. Kerry ROctober 6, 2010 at 4:51 PM

    I understand the comment faith made, "It's not that society doesn't want those with disabilities, it's just that they do want those who are healthy" and I think it is a true statement. However I feel that this should be the parents choice if even possible at all. I think to the general public, being able to pick and embryo or not pick a certain embryo does suggest that people with disabilities should not be born. Coming from a religious stand, we are born as who we are supposed to be. However this is more complicated because if given the choice, most people would not choose a child with disabilities due to the complications that could arise and the additional care they would need.

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  5. TawnyOctober 11, 2010 at 10:29 AM

    Thats a very interesting way of putting it Faith. and i totally agree with your statement that kerry just agreed with. Our society does want people who are healthy but that doesnt mean that we are totally against people with disabilities.ultimately i think that deciding which embryo gets to experience life and which ones dont shouldnt be our decision.

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  6. JillyOctober 11, 2010 at 6:10 PM

    I agree that it may SEEM that we are suggesting that disabled children should not be born, but I believe there is more to this situation. As said above, a decision like this is probably made because life would be easier with a healthy child. I feel that most parents would want a healthy baby, one does not wish to give birth to an unhealthy child.
    I also like to think that these parents are not just being selfish when making this choice. As said above, in a situation like this, a parent would know if their child would have a disability. They may be thinking ahead for their child, and making a choice for them. It's a maturnal instinct to keep your child safe, healthy, painfree. These embryo's do not have a voice, they can not be heard. Maybe they would not want to suffer through life, maybe they would? The embryo's parents could be making what they think is the right choice for their child.

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  7. AnonymousOctober 11, 2010 at 8:27 PM

    I really like the way that Gloria put this. The idea that they are picking out the disabilities, in hopes of preventing future suffering of a child, and also the problems that it may cause the family. If everyone had their way, every child on this earth would be an incredible athlete, or movie star, or something along those lines but the truth is we don't have a lot of choice on how are child is going to end up. I think that being able to prevent birthing a baby with a disability is just a little sense of control over something so random as having a baby, so why not allow the family to have that choice? If they decide they wouldn't mind a child with a disability than okay, but if they decide that they want to screen for a healthy baby they should have that choice. In the end it lies in the hands of the family to choose whether or not they would be "okay" with possibly having a baby with a disability. And to answer the question, no i do not believe this suggests that babies with disabilities shouldn't be born, but like Faith said more healthy babies should be.

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  8. TanyaOctober 13, 2010 at 2:33 PM

    I like what Faith said, but at the same time, for certain disabilities, the baby does'nt even get to experience life if it has a really fatal disorder. In cases such as those, sure the baby gets to live for a couple hours, but those hours are so painful is it really worth sticking through it? If a mother had the choice to deliever a baby that she knew would eventually die in her arms, it's her choice however the suffering of the child may outweigh the miracle of life. What I'm saying is that in cases when the child is doomed to live an extremely short life and be in constant pain, is it worth emplanting that embryo?

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  9. MustafaOctober 14, 2010 at 7:40 PM

    First off, the question says: is the ability to do so infer that disabled children should not be born. The ability to do so does not say that it is the action of doing so that infers this.
    I do feel like preventing those embryos from being born is somewhat a slap to the face for people with disabilities. But is that necessarily a bad thing? I mean, who would want to be born with a disability?

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  10. kaylaOctober 18, 2010 at 11:05 AM

    Yes, I think it does suggest that a person with a disablitity shouldn't be born. Trying to prevent something means that you are trying to stop it from happening. So if you are trying to prevent that from happening then you obviously dont want a child with a disablity. But is this completly a bad thing? I don't really know... I feel like it was save the parents a lot of stuggles and hardships but thats still a life of someone that you are preventing from being born. And that I think is wrong. I dont know, this is a hard question.

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  11. JillyOctober 18, 2010 at 3:38 PM

    I agree this is a very difficult question. It was said "Who would want to be born with a disability?" Well, none of us want to, but is that a real reason to exterminate a life? Some disabilities are caused by the enviornment,and I am sure that there are some disabilities that could not be detected at such an early stage. I think it would be nearly impossible to get rid of all disabilities, and therefore it does not suggest that should not be born.

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  12. Kerry ROctober 19, 2010 at 3:14 PM

    The "who would want to be born with a disability" is a very difficult question and I agree that no one would want to be born with a disability. However everyone no matter if they have a disability or not, has a strength to themselves. This strength could either be knowledge, memory, athletic ability, the list goes on and on. Even people with disabilities are people too and they have strengths. I believe everyone was put on this earth for a reason and to exterminate a life and take that chance away is wrong in my opinion.

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  13. Nicole BOctober 20, 2010 at 9:15 PM

    I think if it could be prevented embryos with disabilities should not be Implanted because everyone wants what's best for their child. Why put then through a life where a majority of the people around them will ridicule them and be unaccepting. I know we have all experienced a time or witnessed someone with disabilities being made fun of. Our world is changing but it's still not at the point where disabled people can walk around without hearing mean comments. Why bring a child into this world if you know before it starts to even form that it would be disabled? That seems cruel to me. Even though it's family will always love it and treat it right the rest of the world will not.

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  14. TawnyOctober 21, 2010 at 9:25 AM

    i agree with nicole. i hadnt looked at it this way until she brought it up. i think she is right about if you know before hand that the child will be disabled that you should save them from a life of suffering. Not because of the fact that people will make fun of them and look at them differently but just because of the fact they wont be able to live their life to its full potential. but by saying this i dont think it suggests anything about a person with a disability not being born. i think if you can prevent its good for them but if you cant their just as welcome in this world as any one else.

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  15. MustafaOctober 21, 2010 at 9:26 AM

    Jilly, you say that we are exterminating a life? That is a controversial topic in itself. I personally view it as a change of lifestyle in our modern world today. Throughout history, technology has changed the way people live. I don't know how this would be any different.

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  16. matt win3October 21, 2010 at 6:31 PM

    i think that even though a person would be born with a disability or disease, they would still have a right to be born if the option would still be availible

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  17. ChristineOctober 21, 2010 at 7:11 PM

    Going back to what alex said, traumatic incidents can occur during a persons life span which can cause somebody to become disabled. So when you say, "If everyone had their way, every child on this earth would be an incredible athlete, or movie star, or something along those lines...", this does not apply to every baby that is born and that every child in this is going to live a pain-free life (meaning we're eventually going to have to deal with such circumstances if they occur). However, my point is that if the parents of the embryo are not going to take away a baby's life due to their diability or what not, it would make sense that there is no reason for them to consider this procedure in the first place, yes? The future of the baby lies within the parent's decision because if they don't have the patience and endurance to take care of a disabled child, it is better if they did not conceive the child at all.

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  18. Connor "annoying" HughesOctober 21, 2010 at 8:09 PM

    I feel like Christine's comment is a little intense. There are some parents where they don't have the money to raise a child that requires constant daily supplements, and care yet they still want the joy of having a family. I feel as though it's not meant to be insulting towards the handicapped but merely what people are capable of managing. A comment was made about the athletic potential of a healthy child. An interesting point that I think is worth discussing is that the overcoming of adversity brought on from being handicapped is of greater inspiration than someone just playing a sport. So perhaps the real athletes are people who grow up with disabilities that turn into disabilities. In the end the choice falls on what the parents are capable of and the quality of life they believe their child will have. No insults are intended whether normal or handicapped.

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  19. JackyOctober 22, 2010 at 8:32 PM

    Connor, I agree with your overall point, except I'd like to point out that you had said that some people aren't capable of taking care of a child with a disability due to costs and whatnot, but isn't the procedure for in vitro very expensive as is? So wouldn't you have to assume that the people doing these procedures, if they can afford them, could also probably afford the costs of having a child with a disability? I'd also like to say that Faith had a very good point, she said that if the ice cream store was out of chocolate, she'd buy vanilla. I think that that should be the case for people, if they have a child with a disability, they should still love it as much as if they were to have a child without one and that just because there's a chance that the store's out of chocolate doesn't mean that you should have to leave the store just to find one that does.

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  20. Sarah KOctober 22, 2010 at 8:33 PM

    To purely and simply answer the question, if the ability to screen embryos for disabilities pre-implantation does suggest that persons with disabilities should not be born. If the public's main way of thinking becomes, parents can stop their children from being born with disabilites, then handicapped people will be very looked down on.

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  21. ChristineOctober 22, 2010 at 9:13 PM

    Sarah, I agree that if this world did not have any people with disabilities then the one person that does turn up with one sometime in the mere future will be critized very much by the public. It's our nature as humans to forget things easily when they are out of sight. This, in other words, is called, 'out of sight, out of mind'. The longer we are exposed to only normal people in this society, the greater our reactions would be towards individuals who are unable to live up to the social norms. If this ever occured, I believe that the acceptance of diversity and differences will go down which will create a world full of difficulties for a disabled/handicapped individual.

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  22. HollyOctober 24, 2010 at 4:14 PM

    I also agree with Christine and Sarah. Also, if this becomes a normal practice for parents to make sure that they don't have children with disabilities; what about the parents that can't afford the screening? Their children will be completely looked down upon in society because they will be in such a minority.

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