This is old news, I know, but I just would like to share some thoughts. On that note, please continue reading.
Alright, so the human genome is being sequenced increasingly quickly and easily, and above all- with a price thats decreasing as time goes on.
Here is a link to genome sequencing for those who don't know what it is, and banter on the quick synopsis I provided above.
Now, why is this scary? We should be happy right? Find allergies early, find predisposed illnesses early, see if one is predisposed to addiction, and
more! But has anyone thought of how terrible this could be in the wrong hands? What if the government begins doing genome sequencing of unborn fetuses
as standard pregnancy procedure? What if abortion is based off of an "undesirable" child because he/she has qualities the parent doesn't like, and
soon pregnancies become a hit or miss for a desired genome by the parents? Of course, this isn't that bad in the case of babies that will be born
into a terrible life if their genome already indicates early illness and high possibility of death/suffering, in which case the choice is
ethical/moral to abort or not. I mean what if parents start choosing to abort because they want a son with, say, blue eyes instead of brown? I'm sure
its their choice, and I have no problem with abortion and moral choices belong to each and every individual to do with it what they want, but the
world would seem much harsher should that option even become available.
But I'm not really scared of that. That choice is the parents', I'm not here to argue the ethical/moral sides of abortion. I'm scared of what the
government could do. Look at China. Then think of a government sequencing the genomes of fetuses. Say a law is passed saying a fetus' genome
indicating predisposed aggression or unruly behavior, etc etc, is by law required to be aborted. Soon, step-by-step, the government controls the
natural selection of the state of its people through selective genome abortion. In the wrong hands, this can be bad. Let's hope the government isn't
that crazy. Its far out to think about, unlikely, but still, just think…