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Justice · Lecture 13 of 19 · 7:25

Bioethics: Designer Children

Justice with Michael Sandel - CCCB: Bioethics: Designer children on YouTube

Study guide

What this lecture covers

This short segment, edited from a talk Sandel gave in Barcelona for Spanish television, is not a full lecture but a focused discussion of genetic selection in reproduction. Sandel uses the real case of a deaf lesbian couple who deliberately chose a deaf sperm donor so their child would share their identity, then broadens the discussion to commercial sperm banks and fertility clinics that let parents select traits like eye color or hair color.

After watching, you should be able to state the moral question raised by the deaf couple's case and explain why Sandel worries that using genetic technology for parental preference, rather than health, risks turning children into commodities.

Key ideas

  • Deafness as identity vs. disability: the couple's case tests whether deafness should be treated as a medical impairment or a valid identity a parent might reasonably want to pass on.
  • Health vs. preference: Sandel accepts genetic technology used for health but questions its use to satisfy parental preferences about traits like appearance.
  • Commodification of children: cataloging sperm donors by physical and academic traits, as commercial sperm banks do, risks treating children as products assembled to specification.
  • Market vs. democratic decision: Sandel frames the choice as being between letting an unregulated market decide the limits of genetic technology or reaching that decision through public, democratic debate.

Before you watch

  • This segment works as a standalone case study and doesn't require prior lectures, though it connects to the course's broader discussion of what justice owes to differing conceptions of the good.

Check your understanding

  1. Why did the deaf couple in Sandel's example seek out a deaf sperm donor, and what argument did they make for their choice?
  2. What is the difference, in Sandel's view, between using genetic technology for health and using it for parental preference?
  3. Why does Sandel think commercial sperm banks that catalog donors by trait represent a danger?
  4. What are the two ways Sandel says the limits of genetic technology could ultimately be decided?

Vocabulary

bioethics (noun)
The study of moral issues arising from biology and medicine.
This talk is part of a series on bioethics.
sperm donor (noun)
A man who provides sperm to help someone else have a child.
The couple chose a deaf sperm donor.
impairment (noun)
A physical or mental condition that limits a person's abilities.
Some see deafness as an impairment rather than an identity.
identity (noun)
The characteristics that make a person or group who they are.
The couple viewed deafness as part of their identity.
fertility clinic (noun)
A medical center that helps people have children.
Fertility clinics let parents select certain traits.
trait (noun)
A particular quality or characteristic of a person.
Parents can select traits like eye color at some clinics.
catalog (verb)
To make a detailed list of items, often for selection.
Sperm banks catalog donors by physical and academic traits.
commodification (noun)
Turning something into a product that can be bought and sold.
Selecting children's traits risks commodification of children.
specification (noun)
A detailed description of requirements a product must meet.
Children risk being treated as products built to specification.
unregulated (adjective)
Not controlled by official rules or laws.
An unregulated market could decide the limits of genetic technology.
genetic technology (noun)
Scientific tools used to understand or change genes.
Genetic technology raises new ethical questions about children.
deliberately (adverb)
Done on purpose, with clear intention.
The couple deliberately chose a deaf donor.
segment (noun)
A short, separate part of a larger program or talk.
This segment is edited from a longer talk in Barcelona.
broaden (verb)
To make a topic or discussion wider in scope.
Sandel broadens the discussion to commercial sperm banks.
assemble (verb)
To put separate parts together to make something whole.
Children risk being seen as products assembled to specification.
moral question (noun)
A question about what is right or wrong to do.
The case raises a difficult moral question for parents.
risk (verb) (verb)
To create a chance of a bad outcome by doing something.
Selecting traits risks turning children into commodities.
reasonably (adverb)
In a way that is fair or sensible, within reason.
A parent might reasonably want to share their own identity.
standalone (adjective)
Able to be understood on its own, without needing other material first.
This segment works as a standalone case study.
public debate (noun)
Open discussion among citizens about an issue, often before a decision is made.
Some decisions about genetic technology should come from public debate.

From the YouTube description

To register for the 2015 course, visit https://www.edx.org/course/justice-harvardx-er22-1x-0.

Should parents be able to "design" their children based on genetic preferences? What are the dangers of turning children into commodities and childbearing into an extension of the consumer society? From a lecture at the Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona, as edited for broadcast on Spanish television (Soy Camara).

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