Procreative beneficence

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Procreative beneficence is the controversial[1] putative moral obligation of parents in a position to select their children, for instance through preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), to favor those expected to have the best life.[2] An argument in favor of this principle is that traits (such as empathy, memory, etc.) are "all-purpose means" in the sense of being instrumental in realizing whatever life plans the child may come to have.[3]

The term was coined by Julian Savulescu, a professor of applied ethics at St Cross College in Oxford.

See also

References

  1. de Melo-Martin I (2004). "On our obligation to select the best children: a reply to Savulescu". Bioethics 18 (1): 72–83. PMID 15168699. 
  2. Savulescu J (October 2001). "Procreative beneficence: why we should select the best children". Bioethics 15 (5-6): 413–26. PMID 12058767. 
  3. Hens, K.; Dondorp, W.; Handyside, A. H.; Harper, J.; Newson, A. J.; Pennings, G.; Rehmann-Sutter, C.; De Wert, G. (2013). "Dynamics and ethics of comprehensive preimplantation genetic testing: A review of the challenges". Human Reproduction Update 19 (4): 366. doi:10.1093/humupd/dmt009. 

Further reading


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