Can humans be trusted with control over genetics? - Michael Vazquez and Raye Ploeger

Andre and Leslie are a deaf couple who have recently decided to have a child, and they’re considering using a process called preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

In PGD, an embryo is screened for genetic conditions before being transferred into the uterus, allowing prospective parents to exclude embryos with unwanted genetic conditions.

However, Andre and Leslie are considering using PGD to ensure deafness in their child.

While the couple is uneasy exercising such profound control over their child’s future, as deaf parents, they feel they could provide better guidance to a child that would share their lived experience and grow up immersed in deaf culture.

But is it ethical for these two to select for deafness?

The rise of genetic technologies like PGD have led philosophers to consider this kind of question.

And to make sense of these dilemmas, many thinkers rely on the “Principle of Procreative Beneficence.” Coined by philosopher Julian Savulescu, this principle says any prospective parent able to select their future child’s traits, should give their child the best chance at the best life.