It's funny because I 'get' the title now but when I first read it I wasn't sure if it was about losing weight after pregnancy! Oh how wrong I was.
In summary this article is about REPROGENETICS. New word for you? Me too. Basically it is a cross between reproductive technology (think IVF) and genetics and allowing a parent to choose or eliminate traits including things like gender or disease before the child is even conceived.
You can also test children when they are infants. The example they so innocently provide explains that a dad could test and see if his son is going to be a great football star. If genetics show that he does have an inclination toward athleticism than you know you do not have to waste time with music lessons. You can also use the information to foster the child's talent from a young age.
Overall the writer of the article is not very supportive of this break through in medicine because she believes a parent should let a child come into their own. She spoke about her own son who was athletically inclined but truly preferred music as his outlet. The article was not necessarily for this 'new wave' because they didn't want to crush a child's sense of creativity! WHAT?!!
Of course I am reading it and thinking OH MY GOSH! I guess I knew that these types of genetic findings would surface during my lifetime but I still am not prepared for this!
If parents are able to choose certain traits we are in a lot of trouble. Besides the obvious problem of playing God there becomes the issues of control. Hitler tried to choose the traits he wanted in society and it resulted in the Holocaust. China is attempting to choose gender traits by mandating a two child policy and killing baby girls. (This absolutely kills me that it is happening in this day and age and still I sit on my couch and can virtually do nothing.)
More than anything it directly affects the dignity of the human person. God knew us before we were formed in the womb. He plans it all out, our beauty inside and out, our talents, our motivations and science wants to eliminate those traits that it does not deem worthy. Or maybe traits that it just doesn't like. Science wants to try and trump what God has planned. How scary and sad! Please join with me in prayer to end reprogenetic research.
