Biotech ethics focus of President’s Council
A document exploring the implications of using biotechnical powers for reasons beyond therapy takes up controversial issues — such as the prospect of creating designer babies — and questions whether such scientific advances are possible and ethical.
Billed as an educational piece, the 310-page ethical inquiry, which also discusses topics such as mood-altering drugs, was written by President Bush’s 18-member bioethics council. Chaired by Leon Kass, a professor at the University of Chicago, the President’s Council on Bioethics is made up of professors, scientists, theologians, lawyers, and humanists.
Titled "Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness," the document’s preface describes it as an inquiry into the potential implications of using biotechnology beyond therapy in order to try to satisfy deep and familiar human desires: better children, superior performance, ageless bodies, and happy souls.
The document concedes that many of the potential uses of biotechnology designed to satisfy some of those desires are clearly well off in the future. Nevertheless, they are worthy of discussion because of the challenges and choices they would present.
As technology advances, the authors consider the purpose of biotechnology, i.e., is it to give us perfect babies, bigger muscles, rid people of illness and disease, or make us happy?
On the latter, the authors take up the widespread use of mood-altering drugs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Prozac, Paxil, or Zoloft. The report cites a recent poll that said one in eight Americans use SSRIs, mostly as treatments for diagnosed illnesses (depression, anxiety).
From an ethical standpoint, the document asks, "Why shouldn’t a patient use such a drug if he feels unfulfilled or steadily blue?"
While there are many positive uses of SSRIs, the document says memory- and mood-altering drugs pose a fundamental danger to the pursuit of happiness.
"In the process of satisfying our genuine desires for peace of mind, a cheerful outlook, unclouded self-esteem, and intense pleasure, they may impair our capacity to satisfy the desires that by nature make us happiest," the document said. The entire report can be viewed at www.bioethics.gov.
A document exploring the implications of using biotechnical powers for reasons beyond therapy takes up controversial issues such as the prospect of creating designer babies and questions whether such scientific advances are possible and ethical.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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