Langs bloedbanen

Through extensive prenatal screening and new gene therapies, we are trying to get more and more control over our health and that of our children. A noble goal, it seems, but according to author Piet Devos there is an urgent need for more critical reflection on this medical social engineering.

Drawing on his own experience with a rare genetic disorder, Devos particularly warns against the tendency to reduce people to a DNA profile that may or may not be correctable.

Moreover, using DNA to determine who is sick or healthy, which children are desirable or not, is an ethical choice. As Devos argues, it is therefore high time we openly acknowledge and question such choices.

Otherwise, sick and disabled people risk becoming victims of tacit oppression once again.