The post-humanist embryo: genetic manipulation, assited reproductive technologies and the principle of procreative beneficence / El embrión post-humano: manipulación genética, reproducción asistida y el principio de beneficencia procreativa

Drawing from Julian Savulescu's argument for the obligation to use technological interventions for the enhancement human life, the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB) states that parents have a moral obligation to use available reproductive technologies, including techniques of genetic manipulation, to create children who have the best chance of enjoying the best possible life. The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which the possibility of using genetic manipulation to promote specific personality traits and thereby enhance human life is actually supported by current scientific knowledge and to determine whether the techniques employed in embryo selection comply with the PPB. In light of this analysis, the importance of involving the scientific community in the enhancement debate will be made clear. Moreover, when current knowledge of genetic and epigenetic processes and evidence of the risks of assisted reproductive technologies are taken into account, we find sufficient reason-even when guided by the PPB-to abstain from the use of current techniques of genetic manipulation and embryonic selection

El principio de beneficencia procreativa (PPB), propuesto por Julian Savulescu, establece que los padres tienen la obligación moral de utilizar las técnicas de manipulación genética y reproducción humana asistida disponibles para crear niños que tengan la mejor oportunidad de disfrutar de la mejor vida posible . El objetivo de este trabajo es analizar, por un lado, hasta qué punto la manipulación genética para la obtención de rasgos concretos tienen en consideración el paradigma actual de la ciencia y, por otro lado, si las técnicas implicadas en la selección embrionaria propuestas cumplen con el objetivo perseguido por el PPB. Además, esta exposición pretende mostrar la importancia de implicar en la discusión sobre el enhancement a la comunidad científica. Teniendo en cuenta el conocimiento científico sobre los procesos genéticos y epigenéticos del desarrollo y los riesgos asociados a las técnicas de reproducción asistida, nos encontramos con razones suficientes para tomar la decisión de no someter a los niños a las técnicas actuales de manipulación y selección embrionaria

The post-humanist embryo: genetic manipulation, assisted reproductive technologies and the Principle of Procreative Beneficence.

Drawing from Julian Savulescu's argument for the obligation to use technological interventions for the enhancement human life, the Principle of Procreative Beneficence (PPB) states that parents have a moral obligation to use available reproductive technologies, including techniques of genetic manipulation, to create children who have the best chance of enjoying the best possible life. The aim of this study is to analyse the extent to which the possibility of using genetic manipulation to promote specific personality traits and thereby enhance human life is actually supported by current scientific knowledge and to determine whether the techniques employed in embryo selection comply with the PPB. In light of this analysis, the importance of involving the scientific community in the enhancement debate will be made clear. Moreover, when current knowledge of genetic and epigenetic processes and evidence of the risks of assisted reproductive technologies are taken into account, we find sufficient reason - even when guided by the PPB - to abstain from the use of current techniques of genetic manipulation and embryonic selection.