I've heard of a medical professional who believes birth control should be in the water and the only way to have a kid is to qualify for one. I know that's a bit of a medical stretch, but this is after all just me sitting on the porch with you kicking around ideas.
Before I get into issues with population growth; let's take it one step further: GATTACA. One of my favorite movies. Here are a few quotes at the start of the film.
"Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?" - Ecclesiastes 7:13
"I not only think we will tamper with Mother Nature. I think Mother wants us to." - Willard GaylinThe intent of the film is to make you hate genetic manipulation. But that isn't really the problem in the movie. The problem is the primary one that has plagued us since the beginning: PRIDE. Genetic manipulation was just a tool for people to continue to discriminate and set themselves above others. Nothing new there.
"They've got you looking so hard for any flaw, that after a while, that's all that you see."
"Eugene never suffered from the routine discrimination of a 'utero', or a 'faith birth' or an 'in-valid' as we were called. A 'valid', a 'vitro', a 'made-man', he suffered under a different burden, the burden of perfection."Tell me we don't have these problem right now.
So why not start cleaning up the gene pool? Darwin is ticked that modern medicine and society allows for the nasty people with bad teeth and funky B.O. to reproduce and perpetuate their crappy DNA. We typically fix birth defects after the child is born where possible... why not fix them before they even start?
Yes, I agree with the man. I don't see how this violates basic commandments given by God.
And yes, I've read the Malcom Gladwell books and even he says you wouldn't wish Dyslexia on your kid; even if it gave him the VERY SLIM chance of becoming a super rad lawyer, etc. Rather than having 1 kid in 100,000 fix a problem, let's have the other 99,999 in a much better position to tackle it. I like those odds.
But all that is the easy part of my future ideal of reproduction. The big kicker is qualifying to have kids. Is it a basic inalienable right to reproduce? Its the first commandment given to Adam and Eve. Men have a sex drive strong enough to populate Texas if given the resources. But ultimately, I think God is less concerned with how neat, clean and convenient our lives are as the choices we make. People living in a hut or a McMansion still have to make the same choices to either love others or be selfish.
Look at birth rates in first world countries among more educated populations. It plummets. Given time and further advancement; I think we will start to turn the population problem around. Our economics are based on population growth right now and that will have to change; but I believe we can adapt and it will be for the better.
So I say let us all eat cake! I hope we can use the blessings of of medical advancement for our happiness; rather than suffering in masochistic darkness.
1 comment:
Thanks for the post, I'm intrigued. Gattaca is also one of my favorite movies. :-)
Regarding fixing genetic defects, before birth, I think that's a tricky question. "WE DECLARE the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.". Does stepping in to modify an embryo violate this principle? If so, at what point?
As to the question of whether to have children, it's more than a right, it's a commandment. :-) as to how many children a couple has, the Lord's prophets have declared that's between them and Him. In that regard, I'd say they be allowed to have as many children as they can or want and that the government intervene only after birth and only in life-threatening situations or extreme abuse.
I'm grateful for prophets and modern revelation, which answer most of these prickly questions for us.
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