Diving into the world of genetic engineering

December 26, 2007

We sit on the cusp of a new world in which the ability to genetically engineer our children, as well as reupholster our own organs, promises to become routine rather than exotic. Just as old definitions of life proved ethically problematic once medicine understood pregnancy better (would people fight over abortion if everyone agreed a child before birth is not conscious?), our traditional ideas of how we should control our bodies and those of our children look increasingly fragile in the face of “reprogenetics,” the new medical field that unites reproductive and genetic technology. (Portland Press Herald)