The Perfect Baby...Rocks the Cradle
For Immediate Release:Friday, March 7, 1997
Contact:Rosann
Giordano Thompson
(215) 349-5964
Email: rgthomps@mail.med.upenn.edu
Book by Penn bioethicist touted as one of the most important discussions of genetics and cloning
For your 45th birthday your wife offers you some news: she is pregnant. Happy news? Not necessarily, especially when subsequent in utero genetic testing reveals some disturbing facts about your yet-to-be-born child. What should you do? Abort the fetus or knowingly bring a mentally/physically challenged individual into this world?
This controversial issue and other like it are what bioethicist Glenn McGee, PhD, deals with in his new book: The Perfect Baby: A Pragmatic Approach to Genetics (Rowman & Littlefield, 1997). McGee, Assistant Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, gives a comprehensive account of the history and challenges of genetics and seeks to correct inaccuracies found in earlier discussions of genetic technology - both in general and academic literature.
McGee conducted several long-term studies with genetic laboratories and genetic counselors. In addition he spent time assessing parental attitudes about genetics and pregnancy. He reveals the results of those studies, in addition to dealing with the implications of cloning, egg and sperm donation, and other new genetic choices - for parents and policymakers.
According to McGee, within the next ten years most parents will have the opportunity to purchase biological "bonuses" for their children, such as cloned embryos and genetic tests to determine traits. Parents could potentially choose from a veritable "salad bar" of traits including: height, muscle tone, disposition to obesity, aggresiveness, and risk-seeking behavior.
McGee feels that the public should not be alarmed by genetic discoveries. "The new genetic tests and gene therapies are not radically different from options open to parents right now," states McGee. "For every parent who uses Ritalin or Prozac to improve SAT scores, ther are just as many using vitamins and private school." McGee thus distinguished between good options and those he says "violate any of the seven deadly sins of parenting."
McGee, is a Senior Research Fellow at the Kennedy Institute for Ethics at Georgetown and a member of the Working Group on Genetic Testing and Public Health at the Centers for Disease Control.
A prolific writer, McGee has written numerous articles and chapters on genetics, managed care for women and medicaid/medicare patients, and ethical issues in obstetrics, pediatrics, sports medicine, nursing and end of life issues. In addition, McGee is one of the most quoted bioethicists on medical and scientific issues in the general medial and has lectured internationally.
