The Ethics of Genetically Engineering Children - Arthur Caplan

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/07/14/Ethics_of_Using_Biomedicine_to_Enhance_Ourselves

Arthur Caplan, Director of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses ethical issues concerning genetic engineering and genetically handicapped children.

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Arthur Caplan discusses Is it Immoral to Want to Live Longer, Be Smarter and Look Better? The Ethics of Using Biomedicine to Enhance Ourselves and Our Children as a part of The Ethical Frontiers of Science during the 2008 Chautauqua Institution morning lecture series.

Arthur Caplan serves as the Emanuel and Robert Hart Professor of Bioethics, Chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and the Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

He is the author or editor of twenty-five books and over 500 papers in refereed journals of medicine, science, philosophy, bioethics and health policy. His most recent book is Smart Mice Not So Smart People (2006).

He has served on a number of national and international committees, including as the chair of the National Cancer Institute Biobanking Ethics Working Group; the chair of the Advisory Committee to the United Nations on Human Cloning; the chair of the Advisory Committee to the Department of Health and Human Services on Blood Safety and Availability; the special advisory committee to the International Olympic Committee on genetics and gene therapy; the ethics committee of the American Society of Gene Therapy; and the special advisory panel to the National Institutes of Mental Health on human experimentation on vulnerable subjects.

Dr. Caplan writes a regular column on bioethics for MSNBC.com, and he is a frequent guest and commentator on various media outlets. He is the recipient of many awards and honors, including the McGovern Medal of the American Medical Writers Association; Person of the Year-2001 from USA Today, one of the fifty most influential people in American health care by Modern Health Care magazine; and one of the ten most influential people in America in biotechnology by the National Journal.

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[STEPHENWRAYSFORD33]

People have no problem with improving their child's traits and abilites through music lessons, etc. But people have a sort of irrational reaction to any forms of genetic engineering.

[connor646]

there is no evidence for the existence of Jesus outside of the new testament.

[TchrisO123]

god doesnt make this available are u gay? this is the worst thing pple have done in history, its horribly wrong to change a babies destiny before they are born

[NnintendoGamer4911]

If there was a god then why would he make this technology available? You religious people not wanting this can fuck off.

[InvestigateWTC7]

If the technology had existed around the time of his conception, would it have been ethical to genetically engineer a smaller set of moobs for this guy?

Research the term "Bioethics" as it relates to eugenics. Eugenicists had to change their name due to some bad public relations issues early last century ;)

[bbphnix]

@chocolatedonut31 yeah, with gene therapy

[bbphnix]

@UberAntisocialist dismissing the application of this technology on humans completely is out of the question

[bbphnix]

@UberAntisocialist oh really? why not? you think genetic engineering shouldn't be applied on humans at all?

the advantages brought on by this technology are incredible; the entire array of philosophical arguments of the type "playing god", "it's gonna increase social difference rather than diminish" and others are meaningless!!! philosophy becomes meaningless when you have such a potential goldmine; sure, there're debates to be had around this subject, but

[bbphnix]

those two death people are utter douche-bags and the gov should just take their kids away; it's no different that if they had a normal child and they punctured her ears or something like that to render her deaf

mutherfucking morons

[UberAntisocialist]

"Ethics" and "genetic engineering" do NOT belong in the same sentence.

[ariadarabi]

@chocolatedonut31 Yes. However, if your limbs were chopped off and you wanted to grow a new one, the DNA code is already there, your DNA already says you have limbs even though they've been severed; in our lifetime it won't be possible to regrow those limbs.

I don't see a way. Not 100% sure though so don't trust me =P