Genetics and Health

Genetic Moderation

by Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD on May 9th, 2005

Call me naive. Say I have my head in the sand. Ridicule me for having no vision. I would still caution against eagerly embracing biotechnological advancements without considering the consequences and alternatives.

Take modern childbirth, for example. Increasingly medicalized, women are no longer encouraged to maintain a healthy pregnancy weight, go through natural labor and delivery, and breastfeed their children on demand. Instead, any amount of weight gain is considered acceptable, episiotomies, c-sections, and epidurals are routine instead of rare, and breastfeeding is a matter of convenience.

I don’t deny that medical science has saved the lives of many women and children during childbirth. Still, from my personal experience and observation, women are not being educated on natural, healthy alternatives to medical intervention.

Vaccines are a good example of how medical advancements have saved lives. Smallpox has been eradicated. Polio is unheard of industrialized countries, although outbreaks still occur in developing countries, such as Indonesia and Africa. Even with their remarkable track record, however, new and existing vaccines should still be scrutinized. Not every vaccine on the market needs to be given to every man, woman and child; side-effects, though rare, do occur.

Many of the entries and comments I’ve read on other blogs featuring technological advances in both biotech and other fields demonstrate a lack of concern for the downside. When potential problems are grudgingly acknowledged, they are swiftly brushed aside.

Why not jump at every opportunity to enhance ourselves even if that means plastic surgery or gene therapy? Why not live until we’re 204 years old? Why not be the best that we can be even if it involves manipulating our bodies with biotechnology?

Because extremism is never healthy. Health doesn’t have to be perfect. Perfection isn’t happiness.

Nowadays the world is becoming increasingly materialistic, and mankind is reaching toward the very zenith of external progress, driven by an insatiable desire for power and vast possessions. Yet by this vain striving for perfection in a world where everything is relative, they wander even further away from inward peace and happiness of the mind.

~Dalai Lama

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POSTED IN: Genetic Future