Article Review On Genetic Technology In Improving IQ

1) Ever since the technology became available enabling one to be able to know what the baby looks like in the woman’s womb, I believe that many wished to learn how their baby looks like before he or she is born. Even so, doctors have used this technology to warn the pregnant women of any impending danger to the child’s life. In fact, I think that it is serving the medical practitioners a great deal in understanding and detecting any abnormalities in a child’s progressive growth and development in the womb. For instance, a carcinogenic growth due to genes within the child can be detected in its early stages and save the mother and the child’s lives in the process. However, it is morally wrong to use this technology to determine whether or not a child will be born bright or with low intelligence quotient.
2) It is true that technological advancements have brought us to a point that we can actually detect the child’s genetic makeup. In addition, the interpretation of this genetic composition has enabled researchers to determine whether or not a child will be intelligent in his or her lifetime. However much this research is scientifically relevant, it morally wrong. Imagine informing a parent that his unborn child will be of low intelligence. This is like thrashing the hopes and dreams that a parent has had for the unborn child. Julian Savulescu (conversation.com) stipulates that “being smarter does not make your life better” and for that I agree. According to Julian Savulescu (conversation.com), researchers have implicated that possessing two copies of a common gene called Thr92AIa and at the same time, low levels of the thyroid hormone implies low IQ and this has been true so far for 4% of the United Kingdom population. This is a great step in science and should be applauded greatly for it brings us closer to understanding the human body as it is a complex piece of science.
3) This technology can however be employed in medical fields to advice the parents on how best to avoid their children to be low in IQ. For instance, if I detect nutrition errors in a child which are interfering with the development of that child’s IQ, I would assist him or her through the enhancement of his or her diet or any other non-medical path. This however should be done because it is the right thing to do and there is a solution to this particular problem. However, this will be a problem if there is no way of solving the lowered IQ of the child.
4) As Savulescu claims that this technology be used to assess the embryo potential IQ and picking out those with possibility of high IQ, this is not an ethical application of this technology. The big questions here then rises as where will the other children go? With this regard, it is not ethical because this implies that those with a higher IQ will receive better treatment than those other children. In addition, this will undermine the morale of such children with possible low IQ and hinder their overall performance in life especially things like education. Indeed, there is no difference with me selecting my sexual partner genetically because it is in fact not the best way to select my mate. This is attributable to the fact that selecting my partner with whom I would be happy with is my own choice and not for some technology.

Works cited

Savulescu, Julian. “Genetic screening to enhance IQ should be embraced.” The conversation 26 March 2014. Web. http://theconversation.com/genetic-screening-to-enhance-iq-should-be-embraced-24741?