Introduction
The issue of morality has been a contentious subject for many scholars. Notably, the concern has unearthed vital genetics topics in non-identity problems. For instance, David Brocks has summarized his position on the non-identity issue. Brocks provided three case scenarios to illustrate his reasoning for his assertion.
Discussion
In this respect, Brock’s initial instance was designated as p1. This meant that a woman should not try to give birth for the following two months since doing so would result in the conception of a child with minor mental retardation (Brock, 2010, p 514). Probably the ideal explanation is that an individual’s identity seems to be highly reliant on the time of conception. (Purves, 2014). However, if she can be patient, is given medication, and gives birth at the proper time, she may have a healthy child (Brock, 2010, p 514). Similarly, in scenario p2, the woman is pregnant, the condition is diagnosed before delivery, and she rejects medical assistance. Lastly, in p3, the issue is identified after delivery, and medical preventative measures are available to reduce the severity of the mental disease, but she refuses to employ them.
Nonetheless, these circumstances are ambiguous since the child’s inability to take the prescription is still preferable to their lack of medication. In contrast, this is true since delaying the pregnancy by two months would result in the birth of a different child (Brock, 2010, p 514). Equally, during pregnancy termination, the child would not have been born, and a new child may or may not have been conceived. Therefore, it can be concluded that none of the three techniques would have been perfect for the handicapped kid since they would all deprive the child of a meaningful existence. In particular, Derek Parfit states, “If the mother’s failure to prevent the handicap has not made the child worse off, then the mother’s failure to prevent the handicap does not harm her child” (Brock, 2010, p 514).
Conclusion
Therefore, the role of the non-identity issue in accordance with Brocks’s concept entails making adults ethically obligated not to allow children to experience a severe impairment that they might avoid without incurring significant hardship.
References
Brock, D. (2010). Bioethics: Principles, issues, and cases. The Non-Identity Problem and Genetic Harms – The Case of Wrongful Handicaps. Textbook, pp. 513-517. Lewis Vaughn Oxford University Press
Purves, D. (2014). The Non-Identity Problem. 1000-Word Philosophy: An Introductory Anthology. Web.