Do parents have a moral duty to enhance their children through genetic engineering? Are they morally blameworthy if they choose not to do this, assuming that genetic enhancements are affordable and easily accessible? – HUP-244- Natasha L. Jennings
This essay will explain both the concept of moral duty and genetic enhancement
and explore their relationship with one another regarding a parent’s moral duty when
deciding to enhance their children genetically.
Genetic enhancement refers to the alteration of genes to improve upon selected
traits or characteristics that naturally occur within an organism (Medical Dictionary,
2009). For example, Lagay (2001) claims that altering a person’s gametes to ensure
their children are musically inclined is one such example of genetic enhancement and
additionally claims there is an argument to be made that genetically bolstering an
embryo’s immune system could be considered enhancement.
Moral duties are moral obligations; they are actions that are chosen to fulfil or
dismiss a moral agent’s- that is, a person who can be held accountable for their actions
as they can tell right from wrong (Ethics Unwrapped, n.d.)- responsibility (Winston,
2008). For example, parents are considered to have responsibility for their children
(Thompson, 2022)- and it would be their moral duty to do right by their child; it would
therefore be a violation of a parent’s ‘duty of care’ to allow their child to wander off
into a crowded public area unsupervised at a young age.
Thus, if parents have a moral duty to do good for their children, and genetic
enhancements could improve aspects of potential children, and provided these
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