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Posted By
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July 1, 2008, 5:39 pm
Flag as Inappropriate DianaR
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Subject
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Screening Embryos
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WE now have the technology to sort through fertilized eggs and choose only those who meet with certain criteria.
I think this is admirable. It prevents diseases that have a strong genetic basis, from not only developing disease in a child, but also cut back on the number of these flaws from being passed down.
If there was ever a hedge against overall rising health care costs, it is eliminating these genetically based diseases from the gene pool.
Not everyone sees this the way I do, though. Some people feel that the genetic dice should be rolled without human interference.
If you could select an embryo that was free of a known genetic risk, would you do so?
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Comments
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July 1, 2008, 5:42 pm
Flag as Inappropriate KrisNY says...
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I am not sure. I have thought about this a lot- but I'm not there yet.
For now I say no. I would let nature take it's course- just like it has been done for years and years.
I don't like the idea of being able to pick out my child.
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July 1, 2008, 6:43 pm
Flag as Inappropriate Philbo says...
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Selecting to eliminate genetic diseases may well be the only redeeming quality screening embryos possesses. The sad truth is that is not what it will be primarily used for. It will start with selecting the sex of the child and it will quite frankly go down hill from there.
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July 1, 2008, 10:50 pm
Flag as Inappropriate Patty says...
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Personally, I'm against genetic screening. That said, I lost a child to a complication from a genetic disorder. I would wish that on no parent. But I would also never trade the 3.5 years I had with my son for anything in the world.
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July 2, 2008, 5:24 pm
Flag as Inappropriate cranberry says...
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This is one of the toughest topics facing us in the healthcare field, in my opinion. I would rather the genetic screening be done prior to conceiving. Many things could be eliminated if people knew some of the genetic risk factors.
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July 2, 2008, 6:38 pm
Flag as Inappropriate SamIAm says...
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I think that it is a problem in the making. Its one of those things the human race may look back on and saw "what were they thinking". And think of the wide lines it will cause between the rich and the poor. Will medicaid pay for it? I think not. so that potentially means that only the poor will have any genetic problems. Or that only the poor kids will have any kind of "unsavory" characteristic. It will increase discrimination of many kinds. Looking just at eliminating fatal genetic conditions is fine, but nothing ever ends the way it starts out.
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July 3, 2008, 7:34 pm
Flag as Inappropriate BabeRuth says...
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I would not select one because of the fact that it would lead to the others being destroyed. Once conception has occurred, I don't see that destruction is any different than abortion.
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