Pre-natal Diagnosis and What Comes After It

Last week in class, we discussed the issue of prenatal diagnosis and genetic testing. I view these methods themselves as very beneficial technologies that can make our lives easier. The bigger issue is what is done after these tests have been done. I think that being able to find out if your child has certain disorders such as Down Syndrome or Tay-Sachs can greatly help the family in having time to be able to prepare for the challenges that the disorder can bring. However, I do not believe that this is a case where abortion should be pursued if the child is found to have a genetic anomaly. This is mostly because I think that it would  open doors for parents to be able to abort solely on the basis that the child is not exactly what they want. For example, if they wanted a certain gender or a more intelligent child. That reminds me of the books that we all read in high school about the utopias in which all embryos are genetically developed to be a certain way (Huxley's Brave New World ring a bell?) and it's kind of scary to think things could be heading that way.

As far is the possibility of genetically correcting the DNA when prenatal diagnosis happens, I am still not sure exactly where I stand on that. I think it could pose problems similar to those that arise by aborting genetically abnormal children such as the nonacceptance of having an abnormal child causing psychological distress to the parent or child. However, its not as severe as aborting so it has its positives, too. When I was thinking about it, I realized that if the child that was found to have a certain disorder was born and then we found a cure for it, it would be a no-brainer that we would want to give the child that cure, so why not correct it before the child is even born. Therefore, I find this to be a much better alternative to not taking the pregnancy to term due to a genetic abnormality.

Not Pro-Life OR Pro-Choice? You're not alone.

Concerning the issue of abortion, growing  up being a Catholic and attending church every week, I normally only got to hear one side of the story: that pro-life is the only right way to think, no matter what the case is. Then on the news I would hear the other side of the Pro-Choice activists that were all about the right for women to be able to choose. Naturally, when thinking about where I stood, I felt out of place because I felt like my stance fell somewhere in between. It was especially troubling in junior high and high school when we would have debates for class or papers to write, we were forced to choose one or the other and support that view.  This is why when we started talking about the subject in class and Professor Marable explained that most theories on the issue are in-between ones, I was happy that we wouldn't just be going back and forth between pro-life and pro-choice and why we thought each one is right or wrong. Personally, I found both Marquis's and Thomson's views to be the most fitting for my opinion that abortion is immoral for most cases besides extreme ones such as rape or if the mother's life is in jeopardy. Thomson's violinist analogy was very odd but it did bring up a good point I suppose. Overall though, I think abortion is going to be a hot topic in politics for many years to come because there are so many different opinions stemmed from personal or religious beliefs, and what can and can't be regulated, that coming to a consensus on one will be tough.

Physician-Assited Suicide for Healthy People

The thing that struck me the most this week was the story of George and Betty Coumbias. This story did not sit as well with me as the story of Craig Ewert. This is because although the whole idea of their story was romantic and it belongs in a movie, I don't like the real-life implications of it. I'm sure losing your lifelong sweetheart would be a very painful event. However, I don't believe that it is worth losing the rest of your own life over something like this. I think the thing that gets me the most is that I'm sure there are thousands of people out there that would love to have Betty Coumbias's health and she was willing to just throw that away based on someone else's life. I could just feel this way because of the way I've been brought up to never fully rely on someone else to fulfill your own life, but I think there are many other things to live for beyond the life with your spouse. Therefore, I fully agree with the decision of the physician to not approve the couple for the procedure. The end result of Betty passing away before George was very ironic, and the fact that, so far, George is still living kind of shows that the passing of one does not have to mean ending two lives.