The New Biology: Law, Ethics, and Biotechnology
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Description
Improvement of man's genetic endowment by direct actions aimed at striving for the positive propagation of those with a superior genetic profile (an element of which is commonly recognized as a high intelligence quotient) or-conversely-delimitation of those with negative genetic inheritance has always remained a primary concern of the geneticist and the social engineer. Genetic integrity, eugenic advancement, and a strong genetic pool designed to eliminate illness and suffering have been the benchmarks of the "Genetic Movement" and the challenge of Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. If the quality of life can in some way be either improved or advanced by use of the law, then this policy must be developed and pursued. No longer does the Dostoyevskian quest to give life meaning through suffering become an inescapable given. By and through the development and application of new scientific advances in the field of genetics (and especially genetic engineering), the real potential exists to prevent, to a very vii Preface viii real extent, most human suffering before it ever manifests itself in or through life. Freedom to undertake re search in the exciting and fertile frontiers of the "New Biology" and to master the Genetic Code must be nurtured and maintained. The search for the truth inevitably prevents intellectual, social, and economic stag nation, as well as-ideally-frees all from anxiety and fright. Yet, there is a very real potential for this quest to confuse and confound.
ISBN
978-0306431876
Publication Date
1989
Publisher
Springer
Disciplines
Bioethics and Medical Ethics | Law | Medical Jurisprudence
Recommended Citation
Smith, George P. II, "The New Biology: Law, Ethics, and Biotechnology" (1989). Faculty Books. 75.
https://scholarship.law.edu/fac_books/75
