Taking the “Natural” out of Selection
A website titled “Genochoice” is a satirical sci-fi futuristic parody website that looks at what would happen if people were able to design or preselect desirable traits within their preborn infant….for a price. This website is specifically comical and nothing is very real about it. The graphics are on the cheesey side and the website looks slightly questionable at best. But some people have been fooled into thinking it is real.
See for yourself at: http://www.genochoice.com/
The website works along side a couple’s testimony’s and a reassuring female scientist that uses step-by-step videos, that allow you to scan your DNA (Via thumbprint) and then instantly see your results. The results show the precentage of risk your future baby will carry for possible so called diseases or oddities such as homosexuality, cancer and heart disease just to name a few. The site also lets you include boots to skills such as creativity and athletic ability for bonus fees. The costs for all of these “upgrades” as the site calls them are in the thousands of dollars.
So, althought this site is a hoax the idea behind it is very probable for the future. The idea of money buying beauty, health, and intelligence would significantly seperate individuals in society. The real issue is how society stillshows traces of this divide already in society right now in 2009. So as a society that constantly puts faith in the latest technological advance would we be bettering our culture with certain advances? Such as getting rid of cancer and heart disease. Or would we actually be setting up a huge class seperation by offering these options at a fee? Even if the fee was through a person’s insurance company or out of pocket? The world today thrives on an economy and everything seems to come at a price. Would “better” genetics be another option for the more well off individual?
For those who got a kick out of the website the company also made three other websites:
1.) The World’s First Transgenic Mouse with Human Intelligence – http://www.rythospital.com/clyven
2.) Nanodocs – http://www.rythospital.com/nanodocs
3.) Male Pregnancy – http://www.malepregnancy.com
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I love that these sites are interactive. The genochoice site asks for your full name (easily bypassed by pressing the button at the bottom) and for your email at the end. Does anyone know what happens if you actually do send them your email address? Do they keep going with the hoax or do they tell you straight out that this is not a real service? It would be really interesting to see the full list of what the site considers “risks.” If this is an available option in the future, is there any good way of going about this process or is it just too much power and choice for us to handle? At what point would you draw the line between health benefits, the moral extent of human decisions, and making decisions about someone else’s life? Personally, it bothers me that homosexuality is a risk factor and I was wondering if anyone else saw something in their scanned risk list that would make them pause. (For example, choosing your baby’s sex/gender with a simple, all-inclusive set of two buttons titled “Boy” and “Girl”)