Selective abortion and gene therapy: reflections on human limits.
The potential impact of the Human Genome Project on selective abortion is considered here, as is human gene therapy. Themes of emphasis are broadly humanistic: human suffering, contingency, and perfection. The chief concerns of the article lie with selective abortion for less than serious reasons, and with the importance of avoiding efforts to "enhance" human beings by gene transfer methods. The style is widely interdisciplinary.
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Department of Philosophy, Center for Biomedical Ethics, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106-4901.
D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D004954:Esthetics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005053:Eugenics; D005086:Existentialism; D005260:Female; D030342:Genetic Diseases, Inborn / Q000235:genetics / Q000517:prevention & control; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000523:psychology; D006262:Health; D006291:Health Policy; D016045:Human Genome Project; D006806:Human Rights; D006801:Humans; D009014:Morals; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011296:Prenatal Diagnosis; D011379:Prognosis; D011639:Public Opinion; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012945:Social Values; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D015974:Wrongful Life