Jan. 08, 2007 - 19:18 MST

LOGICAL AND ETHICAL

Common sense I guess is a matter of each person's definition of that trait in others, often at odds with his definition as applied to himself. This article in this morning's The Rocky Mountain News surely makes its point with me. It is by Dan Thomasson of The Scripps Howard News Service and quoted in full here (Bolds and italics mine):

SCREENING EMBRYOS FOR DEFECTS IS SMART, ETHICAL

"The other day I heard about a man whose family history was riddled with colon cancer. His father and uncles and other relatives all had suffered from the disease, and it was clear that he, too, had that genetic disposition. When he and his new wife decided they wanted to have chldren, they were naturally concerned."

"For them the solution lay in a new process called PGD (pre-implantation genetic diagnosis) that would allow them to avoid the tragedies that had befallen others in their family. Doctors harvest a number of eggs from the female, fertilize them with the sperm of the male and produce embryos that can be tested for any number of things, including the genes that produce certain diseases."

"In this case, several embryos had the cancer-causing gene and several didn't, allowing the couple to choose a "clean" embryo for implantation and destroy those with the bad gene, freeing the couple from the constant concern about their child's future -- at least when it came to medical heritage."

"Having faced the exact same family problem and actually survived a close call, I regarded the couple's decision as not only sound and sensible but also ethically correct. Why, when it is not necessary, bring a flawed being into this world ? But this is not the view of those who regard life as beginning whenever an egg is fertilized in or out of the womb and becomes an embryo. The destruction of embryos is once again the issue."

"The chorus of opposition to this procedure has just begun, and as its popularity grows, so will the noise against it."

"Opponents to this research, contend that one should take what God gives and make no effort to change it. But that viewpoint seems not only unelightened, but also criminal, when today's science is capable of eliminating or at least curtailing human tragedy."

"Didn't God give those scientists who develope this and other procedures the brains to make things better for human beings ? Isn't his hand obvious in the efforts guide his creations to help themselves ? These are questions the opponents to this and nearly every other biological advancement should be weighing against blind adherence to sectarian dogma that shold be thousands of years in the past."

"The fear about these procedures is that they will be misused, that prospective parents will use PGD to dictate the sex of their baby or even to decide what color its eyes and hair will be. Certainly there should be controls and ethical standards, as there are for any such activity. Building monsters is the last thing anyone wants and the research should be closely monitored."

But women who must carry the burden of childbirth have the right to do everything humanly possible to make certain the fruit of that difficult labor is strong and healthy. Those with no interest in the matter especially uninvolved men should not force them to take chances when there is no need. IT IS LITERALLY NO ONE'S BUSINESS BUT THE PARENTS' IN THESE CASES, AND IT IS DESPICABLE TO MAKE THEM FEEL GUILTY FOR AVAILING THEMSELVES OF A LIFE-SAVING PROCEDURE."

"Unfortunately, that seems to matter very little to those who ae constantly trying to foist their idea of morality on the rest of us, telling us how we must conduct our lives when they have no authority to do so. They have no more certainty about when life acutally begins than any of us."

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To my way of thinking, this is a very good way to go. I claim no moral or religious high ground, but just wonder what childless woman would happily volunteer to have those faulty embryos implanted in her womb?

I guess I am as guilty as the next person in thinking that people who don't fly my route are gravely in error, however, my feeling is that they should do as they see fit, dig their own holes and later fill them up, pay the cost and be happy about it.

I am no activist trying to set the world straight, I have my own life to live as do others.

I have and do accept responsibility for my acts and try to be as happy as a feeble old man can be, (Which ain't such a bad level of happiness).

I must however, admit that many of our acceptable mores derive from those hidebound churchmen who, in their day, felt that one must live their way or be damned forever -- and did their best to see that the punishment began immediately. From that way of thinking people either turned their back on the whole thing or tried to live the best way they could, and let everybody else do the same.

Seems to me that folks should in all ways strive to be impartially LOGICAL AND ETHICAL . . . . . . . . . . .

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