Just the Way You Are


Imagine that it is the year 2050 and it has become popular to select children that are tall and have clear skin. Your parents, however, could not afford genetic selection, and you are short and have acne. Imagine further that you are the only person in your neighborhood who is short and has acne. How would you feel? When you ask your parents why you are the only person like you on the whole block, they respond that the neighbors had their fetuses tested. If the fetuses had genes that would cause the resulting child to grow up short with acne, they were aborted. Would this make you feel unwanted? Why or why not?