- Bioethics Forum Essay
A Narrow Path for Optimism that Social Genomics Can Combat Inequality
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayIn his recent piece, “The genes we’re dealt,” Erik Parens puts his finger on cause for concern with what he calls social genomics: while progressives can use insights from this new field to justify combating inequality, conservatives can use them to justify the existence of that same inequality. This pessimistic conclusion—which Parens argues convincingly for—follows from a focus on insights at the societal level, that of a whole population. But there are grounds for optimism by focusing instead on potential insights from social genomics derived from local-level comparisons between different environments. Such insights could point to interventions that progressives and conservatives might just be able to agree on.Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Transcending Borders in the Ethical Oversight of Human Genome Editing
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Immigrant DNA Collection: Fighting Crime or Moral Panic
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayLast week, the Trump Administration proposed a new rule that would “require DNA-sample collection from individuals who are arrested, facing charges, or convicted, and from non-United States persons who are detained under the authority of the United States.” Collecting DNA of people detained under the Department of Homeland Security is not permitted under U.S. law. The proposed rule aims to change that.Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Is GINA Unjust?
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Do You Want the Police Snooping in Your DNA?
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayIn late April, a suspect thought to be the Golden State Killer, a man who had eluded police for decades after committing a string of murders and rapes in Northern California and Orange County between 1976 and 1986, was identified on the basis of DNA evidence. Although we celebrate the dogged pursuit ...Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Addressing Questions About DTC Genetic Tests and Privacy
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayThe process is fairly simple. You select one of the companies that offer direct-to-consumer genetic tests; pay online; receive a neatly packed kit that contains a tube designed to collect your spit; return the package using prepaid postage; and wait for the results that will unravel the mysteries of ...Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Is Noninvasive Prenatal Genetic Testing Eugenic?
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayBefore noninvasive prenatal screening becomes a routine part of gestational care, society needs to have difficult conversations about the ethical implications and establish a paradigm for truly informed consent in reproductive decision-making. These are admirable goals, set out in an article by Vardi...Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Do We Have a Moral Obligation to Genetically Enhance our Children?
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayThe Oxford philosopher Julian Savulescu, among others, has argued that prospective parents engaging in embryo selection using preimplantation genetic diagnosis not only may seek to have genetically enhanced children but are morally obligated do so. (See, for example, his essay “Procreative Benefice...Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
Morally Indefensible Health Care Bills
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssayThere is a broad and deep moral conviction that health care should be distributed according to genuine need and not left to the cold mercy of pure market forces or the logic of actuarial fairness. Unfortunately, the proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA), passed last week in the House of Representatives, and other legislation threaten to undermine that moral commitment.Read the Post - Bioethics Forum Essay
DNA Phenotyping and Baby’s First Portrait
Read the PostBioethics Forum EssaySome researchers are at work generating images of people’s faces by relying on DNA samples alone, in a process known as DNA phenotyping.The process involves linking genetic traits and their typical manifestations in traits such as eye color, hair color, and features associated with ancestry. The r...Read the Post