British screening of embryos for deafness in IVF[->] 2008-03-18 04:20 ad454
Submitted
by
ad454
on Tuesday March 18, @04:20AM
ad454 writes "A new bill going through British parliament will require that embryos used in IVF treatment would be screened out, if they carry any indicators (such as the deafness gene) that the resulting baby would be born deaf. This was triggered as a reaction to deaf rights extremists, such as Tomato Lichy who wanted to use IVF to specifically choose to have a deliberate deaf child. It makes me sick that any parent would be twisted enough to desire to have their child born with a disability. What next for these extremists, will they start mutilating the ears of newborns? ... I am all for supporting the rights of the disabled, and deafness is a disability since one lacks a ability (HEARING) that is common in the general population. (Heck, if most people had telepathy and I didn't, then I would be disabled.) These deaf rights extremists consider themselves to belong to a culture that needs cultural protection. What is next, should blindness also be treated as a culture, and should parents be allowed to deliberately choose embryos that would result in blind children?"
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/closeup/the_right_to_be_deaf.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ouch/closeup/the_right_to_be_deaf.shtml
