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Brandon Keim interviews James Hughes in his article, “Designer Babies” that we are reading this week. Hughes believes that parental autonomy has to be held in the highest regard, even if parents are trying to “ design” their babies, selecting for various traits that they prefer. Assuming that there comes a day when it’s possible to select for all sorts of things: smartness, athleticism, hair color, etc., do you think that Hughes is right and that it’s ethical to do this? If you argued two weeks ago that it’s ethical to select against disability, do you have to remain consistent and argue that it’s also ethical to select for your idea of perfection? Or are there other moral considerations you would want to introduce when debating “designer” babies?

Forman’s affecting memoir, This Lovely Life, tells the story of the daunting health issues facing Forman’s prematurely born twins at just six months’ gestation (23 weeks). Though she begged the doctors to “let them go,” the doctors refused the “do-not-resuscitate” order, providing instead every possible medical intervention.

What part of Forman’s story moved you the most?

Using prenatal tests to prevent the birth of babies with disabilities seems like a good idea to most people. Some members of the disability rights movement disagree, arguing that it violates the movement’s central tenet that living with disability need not be detrimental to disabled individuals, their families, or society. Write a response that might satisfy disability rights activists – either by agreeing that prenatal genetic testing is morally unsound OR by arguing that it is ethical, yet does not need to compromise the work of disability activists. (Or you can come up with another argument altogether, as long as it addresses the concerns of disability rights activists).

There are approximately 600,000 frozen embryos in storage at fertility centers around the world. When couples are arguing about what to do with them, whose interests should prevail: those who want to gestate the embryos and become a parent? Those who want to discard the embryos and not become a parent? Or do the embryos themselves have an interest? 

Why has reproductive tourism become such a profitable transnational phenomenon? What are the consequences and implications of the practice for all the parties involved? (please refer to the articles to answer these questions.)

I decided that you don’t have the read the Glenn Cohen chapter for this week. So that’s one less thing to do! I’ll tell you about it in class.