synthesize your thinking about ethics and enhancement. This can take the form of a story, a small experiment, or just a normal short essay like post.
The question that I see so many people debating: “is bio-enhancement ethical?” Feels like a pointless one. Looking at the issue in binary terms creates a void argument, in my opinion. Is it wrong to do some fiddling with genetics to make your kid taller or smarter? I don’t know, and honestly I don’t care. The issue is so much bigger than the moral implications of some kids being taller or faster or more attractive because their parents could afford special pre-natal meddling. This is already happening regardless. Higher income families can afford to get their kids after school tutoring, access to WiFi in their homes, ample time for extra curriculars to put on college resumes, consistent healthy meals, health insurance, the financial possibility of paying for private schooling and higher education, and so much more. Furthermore, some kids are just born naturally tall, fast, intelligent, attractive, etc. Is widening that gap between the haves and the have-not’s through genetic modifications good? No, thats not what I’m suggesting. Then is it perfectly acceptable to go ahead and work towards making these an option? Also no. I believe that the morality of these enhancements is irrelevant in the society we currently live in. Our time, money, energy, and resources should be spent working on making success and flourishing more accessible to low income families through affordable healthcare, universal basic income, special attention to headstart programs and affordable child-care, accessible mental health services, public school funding, and so so much more. Until we fix all the problems we’ve already created for ourselves, I think that the conversation of genetic enhancements needs to stay on the shelf.
-Marvin Stearns