You're not wrong, but why are you bringing that up in response to that?

God that was such a bad intro tune. Adding the acoustic guitar didn't help. Loved the show until they went full "Timecop".

Never go full Timecop.

#FaithOfTheHeart

I was thinking red rising, but that sounds similar. Hadn't heard about this, gotta watch this, thanks :D

Being raised in labs by dickheads may have also been a contributing factor in their personality flaws.

I have not seen this but would very much like to. Do you have a link?

The article was not clear about what stage in someone's life the CRISPR treatment can be applied. I would have assumed early in gestation. But this raises questions such as how down syndrome would be detected at that stage. If in vitro is the method, then why not simply filter out down syndrome at that stage?

I also expect to see sex organs of the opposite sex grown in a lab from your own DNA and then…

I’m kinda glad that didn’t go where I thought it was gonna go but you know it will.

The latter technology exists, but nobody seems to be interested in expanding it past this pilot.

Or testosterone instead of estrogen. Though I'm doubtful that exchanging X and Y chromosomes will change the physiological function of your existing organs that much.

I honestly just meant to do this for no other reasons than to flip the bird to conservatives who arbitrarily define sex chromosomally.

I think what is talking about is like everyone now forced to have blue eyes with gene editing so is it considered a type of soft genocide or something.

we're essentially removing them from the gene pool

I don't think Downs works like that.

It's already being removed, since people choose abortion over downs and since people with Downs don't have children (normally).

It is not hereditary. It's an error or mutation that can occur for anyone. The chances are higher the older the parents are.

Stopping fetuses from developing Down's Syndrome in my opinion isn't unethical because it will genuinely improved their quality of life. They will live longer lives, have fewer health problems, etc. The slippery slope however was pretty well covered in the film Gattica in which people not only start requesting designer children but the world becomes a dystopian utopia where the genetically perfected are unfairly favored as the ruling class while the genetically unmodified become relegated to the worker/slave class.

My understanding is that women with down syndrome only have a 30-50% chance of fertility, and men are generally infertile. Additionally there are laws in place to prevent those with mental disabilities from being taken advantage of sexually, which lessens the chance of children even more. It's a spontaneous mutation, so they wouldn't be removed from the gene pool.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6603116/

The one thing you can guarantee of the human race though is we will do it before we really put the thought in to "if" we should do it.

I have ADHD and have 2 boys on the spectrum. Despite the challenges with my younger and higher needs son I don't know if given the opportunity to play God if I would. As you said it's an extremely complex question I don't know if anyone is truly equipped to answer and I'd argue we definitely aren't mature enough to start playing God.

Here be dragons.

Reminds me of Cyprus with Thalassemia,

they were mostly against termination, but when they introduced screenings, and optional termination. the disease mysteriously disappeared. even though publicly they were against it

(it's a story I read about it a long time ago, so take it with a grain of sand)

There are a lot of reports and interviews with ppl who have down syndrome that are not happy at all with their situation. Ie. Unable to have a driving licence, go to university, huge disadvantage on the dating market… the list goes on. I’m not saying they can’t have fulfilling moments but we also shouldn’t kid ourselves and look at down syndrome with rosy eyes. If it could be cured everyone would do it instantly.

They live fulfilling lives at the detriment of others who have to live less fulfilling lives, maybe they don't see it that way, but its added responsibility

Phenotype vs biological normative.

Deaf people will decry “fixing” a person hearing impaired in the womb. Yet, it’s a correction to biological normative.

Adjusting a gender to a different one in the womb would not be.

Adjusting physical traits for looks wouldn’t be.

Adjusting a physical trait like spinal deformity would be.

Adjusting for general height would not be.

If there is something diagnosable in the ICD-10 codes we have, and it’s preventable in a population, it would not be eugenetics. Remove gene editing as the tool, but just say “magic” a cure. Cures apply to diseases, not traits.

You don’t cure being black. You CAN cure sickle cell.

I think the line is pretty clear.

You simply use existing diagnostic criteria of deviation from biological normative function.

Gattaca is the semi-dystopian vision of our future if we just walk blindly down this path without legislating it properly in advance.

For those who haven't seen the movie: Rich people start paying for perfect "designer babies". A person's genetic information becomes their whole identity; businesses only hire employees with the most genetic predisposition towards being good at the job, while regular people conceived "the old-fashioned way" get McJobs. Even wearing glasses is treated like a crippling disability that immediately and visibly marks someone as "inferior".

It is extremely important that we pass laws to ensure that genetic engineering doesn't create a new caste system.