SOCI 230 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Stem-Cell Therapy, Basal Ganglia, Slippery Slope
3 May 2018
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Lecture 5: Genetics Race and Biomedical Research (continued)
January 19th, 2018
! Positive and negative genetic interventions: the new eugenics?
•!This positive negative distinction is used to make a moral judgment about these types of
integrations and whether or not they are permissible
•!Negative genetic interventions (“treatment”):
o!It’s negative in the sense that the intervention is meant to take out genetic defects or
disease – not necessarily something “bad”. They are in practice thought as no
difference as other kinds of medical treatment aimed at preventing and curing
diseases or impairments. They are in practice thought as no different than other kinds
of medical treatments in that curing diseases
o!Screening for diseases (ex: down syndrome)
o!Selective abortions
o!Cell replacement therapy
"!For the treatment of neuro-degenerate disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease
"!Worldwide, Parkinson’s disease affects 6.3 million people. This disease is due
to the loss of dopamine neurons in the basal ganglia. What the cell
replacement therapy does is it takes stem cells that then grow into these
dopamine neurons which help regenerate these neurons in the basal ganglia so
that they are not lost
"!Helping individuals regain controls of their lives as it is meant to take out a
genetic defect – this is seen as morally acceptable
•!Positive genetic interventions (“enhancements”): (goal: enhancement of a normal trait)
o!Normal traits
"!It’s a normal trait in the population
o!Optimize attributes or abilities
"!Ex: insertion of genes to produce/enhance growth hormones
"!Athletes would want this
o!You’re trying to enhance normal traits – it’s considered positive intervention. But at
the same time, since it’s considered a normal trait in the population, it’s also seen as
morally objectionable types of genetic interventions. These kinds of positive
interventions raise a lot of questions, some of which are listed below
•!Issues raised by positive genetic interventions:
o!What is meant by normal?
o!When is a genetic intervention “enhancing” vs. “therapeutic?”
"!Slippery slope between a genetic intervention as enhancing vs. being
therapeutic
o!Risk/benefit calculation?
"!Individual and societal level
o!Unfair advantage for genetically enhanced?
"!Most used argument against these positive enhancements
"!A lot of these genetic interventions are costly and that means it’s only a little
bit of the population that will be able to afford these types of enhancements
"!A negative genetic intervention is trying to remove or correct a “ defective”
genetic trait (i.e.: dwarfism)
