Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society

by Maxwell J. Mehlman

Overview

Wondergenes not only imagines a future world in which genetic enhancement
is the norm, but asserts that this future has already begun. Genetically engineered
substances are already in use by athletes, in vitro fertilization already provides
the primitive means by which parents can "select" an embryo, and the
ability to create new forms of genetically engineered human beings is not far off.
What happens when gene therapy becomes gene enhancement? Who will benefit and who
might be left behind? What are the costs to our values and beliefs, and to the
future of our society? To answer these questions, Maxwell J. Mehlman provides an
overview of the scientific advances that have led to the present state of genetic
enhancement and explains how these advances will be used in the future to redefine
what we think of as a normal human being. He explores the ethical dilemmas already
facing researchers and medical practitioners, and the dilemmas we will all be
expected to face. In his forecast of the dangers inherent in this technology, he is
particularly concerned with the emergence of a "genobility" made up of
those able to afford increasingly expensive
enhancement.

Wondergenes is a serious, accessible introduction to
the social and personal implications of genetic engineering. Mehlman weighs the
social and economic costs of the many proposals to regulate or limit genetic
engineering and provides six concrete policy recommendations -- from professional
licensing to a ban on germ-line enhancement -- that propose to make the future of
genetic enhancement more equitable and safe.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253111050
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	09/16/2003
Series:	Medical Ethics
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	240
File size:	502 KB

About the Author

Maxwell J. Mehlman is Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director
of the Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and
Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of
Medicine. He is co-author of Access to the Genome: The Challenge to Equality and
co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues in Biotechnology.
He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. An Announcement
at the White House
2. Scientific Foundations
3. Four
Revolutions
4. The Fifth Revolution
5. Safety and
Effectiveness
6. Autonomy
7. Authenticity
8.
Access
9. Inequality and Unfairness
10. Hubris
11.
Solutions
12. Better Solutions
13. Spotting
Enhancement
14. Conclusion
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

founder of Global Lawyers and Physicians

Mehlman deftly explores this powerfully seductive and socially destabilizing biotechnology, and authoritatively suggests legal steps we humans must take to regulate it if we are to have any real chance to garner its benefits and avoid its species—wide destructive potential. —George J. Annas, author of The Rights of Patients and c

President, The Hastings Center - Thomas H. Murray

Wondergenes is a spirited and lively guide to the promises and perils of genetic enhancement. Well—grounded in the science, [the book] poses the central ethical questions posed by enhancement, explains the legal context, and offers intriguing suggestions for law and public policy.

Editor, The American Journal of Bioethics - Glenn McGee

Wondergenes is Maxwell Mehlman's wake—up call to a world that hasn't quite figured out that our genetic future is here. A whole generation of children, senior citizens, and the middle aged are drinking, injecting and pumping chemicals into their bodies to get 'an edge' in every aspect of life. Is that good? Is that fair to the rest of the world—or even the rest of the soccer team? Mehlman is brilliant, and this is the most sophisticated discussion of enhancement ever written, covering the ethical, legal and personal issues that are already on our doorstep. This book will be on the shelf of every policymaker, clergyperson, and businessnessperson who wants to 'get ahead' on the subject of 'getting ahead.'

The American Journal of Bioethics Glenn McGee

Wondergenes is Maxwell Mehlman's wake—up call to a world that hasn't quite figured out that our genetic future is here. A whole generation of children, senior citizens, and the middle aged are drinking, injecting and pumping chemicals into their bodies to get 'an edge' in every aspect of life. Is that good? Is that fair to the rest of the world—or even the rest of the soccer team? Mehlman is brilliant, and this is the most sophisticated discussion of enhancement ever written, covering the ethical, legal and personal issues that are already on our doorstep. This book will be on the shelf of every policymaker, clergyperson, and businessnessperson who wants to 'get ahead' on the subject of 'getting ahead.'

Editorial Reviews

"Wondergenes is Maxwell Mehlman's wake—up call to a world that hasn't quite figured out that our genetic future is here. A whole generation of children, senior citizens, and the middle aged are drinking, injecting and pumping chemicals into their bodies to get 'an edge' in every aspect of life. Is that good? Is that fair to the rest of the world—or even the rest of the soccer team? Mehlman is brilliant, and this is the most sophisticated discussion of enhancement ever written, covering the ethical, legal and personal issues that are already on our doorstep. This book will be on the shelf of every policymaker, clergyperson, and businessnessperson who wants to 'get ahead' on the subject of 'getting ahead.'"—Glenn McGee, Editor, The American Journal of Bioethics

"Wondergenes is a spirited and lively guide to the promises and perils of genetic enhancement. Well—grounded in the science, [the book] poses the central ethical questions posed by enhancement, explains the legal context, and offers intriguing suggestions for law and public policy."—Thomas H. Murray, President, The Hastings Center

"Mehlman deftly explores this powerfully seductive and socially destabilizing biotechnology, and authoritatively suggests legal steps we humans must take to regulate it if we are to have any real chance to garner its benefits and avoid its species—wide destructive potential. —George J. Annas, author of The Rights of Patients and c"—founder of Global Lawyers and Physicians

From the Publisher