Law Commons^™

"Fitness" For Birth And Reproduction: Legal Implications Of Genetic Screening, George J. Annas

Faculty Scholarship

The introduction of accurate methods to screen for genetic defects in the adult, the newborn, and the fetus promises to increase man's control over his own destiny. If that promise is to be realized, however, careful planning will be needed to prevent the technology of screening from imposing its own ethic on man. The invention of the club enabled man to increase his ability to hunt for food, and simultaneously to brutalize his fellow man. In the same way, while advances in genetic screening could lead to an increase in self autonomy for a few, they may also encourage the …