The early eugenics movement forced sterilization upon the misfits like those with Downs Syndrome. Today, we are just eliminating them from the genetic landscape, guaranteeing they won’t reproduce. It seems to me a pretty intentional attempt to do away with a certain type of person. The burden is not on why people with Downs Syndrome are allowed to exist, but why not. Tell me why those with Downs Syndrome should not be allowed to live?
Should we trust science to know where to draw the line? This is never the role of science. Science is about data. Not interpretation of the data. Trusting science with ethics (line drawing) is outside of the bounds of that discipline. Perhaps analogous with trusting your lawyer with your brain surgery?
Author Profile
- Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.
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