People of Tomorrow

Eugenics, Reprogenics and the People of Tomorrow

- Society today seems to be engulfed with improving their current situations in life and modeling themselves after others.

- But what would a specific person constitute as perfect? It could be a physical feature to make them more attractive, an indestructible body for dominating athletic events, or it could even be as subtle as making people see colors for the first time.

- Enhancements are starting off as a therapeutic device in order to help people with certain diseases, but as the American consumer is becoming more willing to pay for anything to help their image, it is only a matter of time before therapy turns to a necessity for the rich.

- Moral and ethical questions:

1. Why should we do it?

2. Is it worth it?

3. What are the risks involved for myself and others?

- Glasses, Contacts, Laser eye surgery, Infrared vision

- Some scientists seem driven by ego, Hollywood, and money which can lead to having the X-Men come off the screen and into your neighborhood.

- This can all be linked to a more modern form of eugenics, even though when eugenics was first formed it was more of a compulsory movement.

- For people considering enhancement of humans, there are four main points to consider:

1. Safety

2. Cheating

3. Hubris

4. Equality

With all of the new technology that seems to be invented daily, a new kind of science is trying to break the barriers of conventional genetics and enter into the eugenic sphere. This new branch of genetics, referred to as reprogenetics, is a science aimed at altering or improving the reproductive process. The advantages of investing in reprogenetics for some would include more interpretation of DNA and a higher reinsertion rate of embryos into the host mother. Some possible goals of reprogenetics would include a higher disease prevention rate, human enhancement and reproductive autonomy. Eugenics, again, was first seen as a social policy with the government involved that would be a compulsory program for the betterment of a society. Reprogenetics is a newly formed definition for the same types enhancements that people want to make for themseleves and their families. An example of a modern form of eugenics which does not involve a government agent would be market eugenics. Market eugenics is a case where insurance companies would put pressure on parents to create a healthier child so the insurance companies would not have to pay out more money for healthcare. This would lead to a homemade/consumer eugenics program where parents could preselect certain traits for their child and, if certain traits are not formed correctly, a more advanced form of selective abortion would take its place.