As the name of the seventh chapter of Moral Choices suggests, Rae talks about biotechnology, genetics, and human cloning. He generally discusses the various ways professionals perform genetic testing, and, as the result, the ways they determine whether a person or a child has a predisposition to a specific genetic disorder. In addition, he analyzes the ways of treating these disorders and discovers the topic of human cloning. While highlighting the fact that the world of biotechnology is here to stay and the science will continue to advance in the future, he largely focuses on the moral dilemmas and concerns that individuals might develop and mentions that they will only become more complicated and harder to resolve. Consequently, this chapter is not only a look on the present time but also the analysis of what will happen in the future.
I found this chapter extremely interesting to read as every section was described in detail and based on examples. By including theoretical real-life examples, the author of the book gave his readers a possibility to apply the discussed information to their life and evaluate how they would react and act in these specific conditions. For this reason, the reading appeared to be relevant for the people who were reading it because they understood that, for instance, any couple can find itself in the situation when they have to decide whether they should perform and abortion or have their child no matter what genetic disease they have.
As I mentioned earlier, I really liked the reading, and this is primarily due to the fact that is valuable for the life for every individual who lives in the contemporary world. I do agree with the author that the moral concerns that arise as a result of this discussions are extremely sophisticated and require a lot of thought. What I truly believe is that everything in life is subjective and every individual has the right to act according to their personal beliefs and opinions. For example, if the parents feel that they child, who tested positive for Down syndrome, will have complications in the future and they will not be able to take care of him properly and; therefore, decide to go through an abortion, it is their personal choice and it can exist. Whatever the situation, we should prevent ourselves from judging because we never know the full story behind their decision.
One subtopic that I did not like in the chapter concerned human cloning. Despite the positive intentions that individuals, who want to perform these procedures, have, I do not think that it is even somewhat relatable to the individual values and ethical norms of the modern world. I am truly for various reproductive procedures that can help people with health complications to have children; however, I am against these procedures and human cloning for the purposes that are connected to making profit and bringing money to someone’s wallet. One important thing that I learned from the chapter it that every person should decide for himself whether they want to have a genetic testing or learn if their future child will have complications after birth. No one should feel obliged or pressured to do something they do not want.
Reference
Rae, S. B. (2018). Moral choices: An introduction to ethics (4th ed.). Zondervan.