Crion on 5/11/2006 at 06:49
I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Malygris on 5/11/2006 at 06:58
If only science could detect the gene that determines whether your baby is going to grow up to be a lawyer, then I think we'd be awfully close to a compromise that makes everyone happy.
if ya know what i mean
Dr Sneak on 5/11/2006 at 07:16
Quote:
If doctors were allowed to kill disabled babies, I think there's too great a risk that the meaning of 'disabled' would then become immorally vague.
Excellent point, this kind of thing is just begging to be abused.
PigLick on 5/11/2006 at 08:44
for fucks sake what do you think the circus was invented for. I for one will never get sick of Mr Torso and his antics.
Scots Taffer on 5/11/2006 at 08:54
Quote Posted by pavlovscat
Fair enough, though you probably didn't realize what you were asking.
I realised fully what I was asking and by reading your answer I've discovered two things: life is hard with multiple sclerosis and yet you still managed to get married and have a life, so why are still for killing people before they get a chance to experience what you have for themselves?
Just because it's difficult doesn't mean it should be ruled out for all cases. Are you trying to say you'd rather have died than contracted MS?
Marecki on 5/11/2006 at 09:06
If you ask me, this is just plain wrong. There is no guarantee that the problem now considered terminal or uncurable won't become treatable well within the disabled baby's life time... "Hey, this new medicine would help Johnny... Oh, wait, I forgot, we euthanised him two years ago. Never mind." Besides, call it all you want but euthanasia of a person without that person's explicit and informed consent is regular murder.
Sometimes I am seriously worried what will happen to the humankind if there is no sudden stop to the expanding school of thought that everything must be convenient :/
Aerothorn on 5/11/2006 at 09:10
Quote Posted by Marecki
Besides, call it all you want but euthanasia of a person without that person's explicit and informed consent is regular murder.
No, it would not be. IANAL (help me, RBJ), but I believe murder is a legal term; therefore, if it was legalized, it would not be murder. Ta-da!
As for the disease possibly being curable - doesn't work like that. We're not talking about kids with kidney disorders, we're talking about seriously deformed "I have no eyeballs and no limbs" sort of kids. I doubt they'll find a cure for that anytime soon...
...but if the did it wouldn't matter. The kid would be turned to 'normal' at the age of 30 or something - would have no idea how to function in society and, yeah, just wouldn't work.
caringiscreepy on 5/11/2006 at 11:37
Quote Posted by Malygris
If only science could detect the gene that determines whether your baby is going to grow up to be a lawyer, then I think we'd be awfully close to a compromise that makes everyone happy.
if ya know what i mean
well there are some genetic disorders that can be detected with varying degrees of success. the problem being alot of the disorders involved are a result of a combination of genetic and environmental factors, its rarely the case to have a single gene cause in a complex disorder.
A lot of the disorders are multifactorial (both genetic and environmental) and indeed have numerous genetic loci involved in subtle ways, so developing a test to find this out is pretty difficult (possibly impossible), add to that the number of disorders needing to be tested for, it becomes impossible to screen for all possible genetic disorders.
I think i would be for the euthanasia, if regulated not by doctors but by a board/commitee of experts from various fields, and certain guidelines in place.
@pavlovscat- you were able to be diagnosed before you reproduced, however in disorders such as huntington disease it is very possible that you may already have children before you develop any symptoms. It is also a disorder that can have an amplified effect in the offspring from generation to generation (due to the mutation causing it) so although you developed symptoms at ~40 your kid could get them at 30 or even lower, i believe there was a case involving an 18 year old who developed symptoms.
I believe euthanasia would be a valid option for certain genetic disorders that result in painful death in the first couple of years, or very early onset severely degenerative diorders.
ilweran on 5/11/2006 at 12:01
Quote Posted by Lucky Hand of Glory
I wish there was some way humans could reabsorption of the cells back into the mothers body if the child were to be bron with severe hadicaps, much the way rabbits do it.
In a way we do as miscarriage or fertilised eggs failing to implant can be caused by genetic abnormalities.
