Request for Comments on an Issues Paper Regarding Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis

[Rosalinda]

Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD), a technique that involves the genetic testing of in vitro embryos, is considered a controlled activity under the Assisted Human Reproduction Act. The regulation of PGD presents unique regulatory policy issues because of the social and ethical concerns it raises, and the speed of advancement in this field. The purpose of this document is to provide background information and to identify issues surrounding the regulation of PGD under the Act. At the end, readers will have an opportunity to respond to questions. Comments provided will help advance thinking regarding the regulation of PGD.

This is a Health Canada document but any assistance or comment on this issue would be welcomed.
hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/public-consult/col/pgd-dgp/index_e.html

 

[Rosalinda]

It seems no one in this forum wants to tackle this issue. In all the discussion about the therapeutic benefits the writers of the paper at Health Canada seem to have neglected the possibility that the clients for IVF themselves pay a heavy personal cost in terms of their emotional and spiritual well-being. The women, in particular, desperate for children may be putting their physical health at risk as the powerful hormonal drugs involved in IVF hyperstimulate their ovaries. Where are the long-term studies evaluating their risk of ovarian cancer for example? Without this valuable data how can a medical professional believe his patient has given informed consent?

Furthermore, in screening these embryos it is taken as a given that the “defective” ones will be rejected and their lives terminated. This attitude is incompatible with their stated objective to respect the “dignity” of human life. Even if the goal is to relieve human suffering, and that desire is indeed noble, does it justify using immoral means to achieve a good end? The mother not only risks her own life but may terminate dozens of siblings in the quest for the perfect designer child. And with the normalization of this eugenic philosophy will potential parents retain the option to keep the child which is discovered to be less than perfect? Today’s consent by a few will be tomorrow’s demand on all. Just like China uses financial penalties, and more, to curb families from having more than one child it is foreseeable any parents carrying genetic diseases will be economically disadvantaged and emotionally isolated should they not get with the program. Our inevitably coarsened society will feel justified in penalizing the brave few who choose to respect all human life as sacred. One only has to look to the example of how few Downs syndrome babies are born today.

Apart from the damage to individuals and families if we continue with this experimentation and manipulation of life in its earliest stages, routinely filtering out all the supposed and perceived abnormalities and predispositions to disease, the question of human genetic diversity remains. By eliminating all the so-called “inferior genes” before birth what unknown, hidden qualities and extraordinary abilities will disappear with them?

 

[Rosalinda]

I have been reading this interesting interview with Fr. Frank Pavone talking with Dr. Bernard Nathanson entitled, “Bio-Ethical Challenges of the 21st. Century” This may be old hat to some of posters in this forum but as I’m a neophyte to the Internet it is amazing the information one can uncover. This quotation shows how dangerous embryonic stem cell research in preborn humans will prove to be when respect for God’s almighty creative power is lost and we become our own gods tinkering with the very building blocks of life.

we have what is called “enhancement genetics” and I think people are aware that there were newspapers reports within the last two weeks of what are called “smart mice.” These are mice whom the geneticists have tinkered with and altered their genes. They have identified the gene or genes for memory and presumably intelligence and they have enhanced them, blown them up or added genes to them and these mice are really super mice now. They have acquired a great deal more measurable intelligence than the average strain of mouse. Well, of course this technology can easily be applied to human beings. So, what we are looking at in that particular area is the creation, if you will, of a super class, a class of philosopher-kings like Plato spoke of but also** the reverse, the mirror side of that is, a class of individuals, whose genes have been reduced…intelligence genes…and they will become the menial brutes of our society made to do all the tasks which no one wants to do and of course they will have muscle genes incorporated within them**.

In other words, mankind will be reduced to two classes: the masters and the slaves.:whacky:

priestsforlife.org/media/nathansoninterview.htm