Cloning and Genetic Enhancement

¶ … Heather D's decision not to be tested for the Huntington's gene a wise one?

Heather D's decision not to be tested for Huntington's is unwise given that Heather is about to become a mother. If she develops the disease, this could significantly impair her ability to parent a child. She should make provisions for the child if she has the mutation and should discuss the situation with her husband. The genetic test for Huntington's is not a test that merely indicates a tendency or a likelihood of developing the debilitating condition -- because of the fairly narrow chromosomal area affected by the mutation, scientists can predict with a great degree of certainty who will or who will not develop the disorder (579).

Q2. Does the genetic counselor's suggestion provide a satisfactory solution to the problem?

No. Most individuals who are opposed to abortion also view the termination of fertilized embryos outside of the womb to be tantamount to abortion. Although the counselor's concern is satisfactory from the standpoint of ensuring that the developing child that is brought to term does not have a genetic code with a deadly disease, from the moral point-of-view of Heather's husband, the action is the same as abortion.

Q3. Is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and the discarding of affected embryos morally equivalent to prenatal diagnosis and selective abortion?

For someone who believes that abortion is an acceptable choice for a woman, the use of IV can be very helpful to enable infertile couples to have children. Even couples who do not believe in the moral acceptability of abortion may wish to have a prenatal screening test to prepare them to cope with a disabled child. However, for a couple morally opposed to abortion, given that the embryos are fertilized prior to selection, it is unlikely that they would consider pre-implantation screening to be an acceptable alternative to selective abortion.

Selective abortion, from a medical standpoint, has its place. For example, to ensure success of IV treatment, multiple embryos are often implanted. This decreases the cost to the couple and also the stress upon the woman's body. However, to ensure a healthy pregnancy, some embryos usually must be eliminated, given the risks of multiple births.

Heather and her husband have several options. The first is that they can put aside their moral qualms and use selective implantation. Psychologically, this is likely to be less traumatic for Heather and her husband, although medically and morally it is not dissimilar to an early abortion. Heather can also elect a selective abortion after the fact, if the fetus is positive for the disease. If the fetus is not positive for Huntington's, then the couple can simply proceed with the pregnancy.