What do you think of this?

Regardless of my opinion on mixing dna to create disease free babies... I think the idea of scientists creating life outside of a womb just to destroy it days later is disturbing and dare I say... sinful?

I agree with Elaine, and I also think that we should be spending time and money in other ways--like figuring out how to cure diseases rather than trying to create the perfect embryo.

No, I don't think so. The reason I say this is that creating disease free embryos does not do a thing for the countless children and adults who are currently living with those diseases. How does creating these embryos benefit these people in their current situation? It doesn't, and to me, we need to work on a CURE for those living with the diseases.

OK, but to cure most diseases can take DECADES to find a cure. At that time, many of the people living with it will be close to dying. IMO, it makes more sense to try to prevent it to begin with...

In one way, it does make sense if you look to future generations, but I can't see disregarding those who are suffering now and who will continue to suffer for a long time, possibly DECADES.
Also, what about families who can't afford this process? It's not likely that insurance will cover it, and it will probably be a while before it's common practice and offerred everywhere. What about families who can't do this? What about their kids? I think our culture's way is too often the quick fix, and we don't always think about the big picture.
I agree that it would be great to be preventative, but that isn't always practical.

But, Brenda, this is also my concern. What about families who can't go through with this procedure or don't have access to it? Simply saying that they have created these embryos isn't a panacea. The families that take advantage of this will go through having eggs harvested, semen extracted, then the fertilization process will have to be manipulated, the cleansing of the genes (or whatever they call it) will be done, and then the fertilized, disease free embryo will be implanted. This is an expensive process, and I am sure insurance companies won't pay for it. So, just because this is available doesn't mean the disease will be eliminated. It will be for SOME families, but not all.

Although I can see all sides in this debate, I still believe there are some things best left in God's hands.

I completely agree with that!

Elaine, I totally agree, but I have refrained from saying it because I wanted to pose the debate without adding in my religious beliefs, but I do agree wholeheartedly.

All of the things that Liz just posted are the very reason I wanted to leave religion out of it.
As a Christian, I take my faith seriously. Just because I take my kids or myself to the doctor doesn't mean that I believe they/we are not in God's hands. More importantly and to the point, I believe that creation is God's alone, and not ours, period. And you know, some people do question God, and they will answer for it. I do not question God. If you look in Job, beginning in Chapter 38, you will see why questioning God is not a good idea. In sum, who are we, as mere humans to question the creator of the universe? Nope, I don't do it, and I do turn everything over to Him. All of which is beside the point, but I understand that some people are arbitrary in their faith or want God to be like Santa Claus. However, I don't see how any of that is a valid argument against saying that it should be left in God's hands.

Ok, I'll step in it. I am prolife, very much so. Needless to say, I don't agree with any of this...

But here's my question. How can you be pro choice and then be against this? How is it ok to terminate a life (in my eyes granted) but it's not ok to manipulate an embryo and then dispose of it? In the end, the same result happened, the embryo was destroyed. How is it sinful one way, but not the other???


Stepping off soapbox and ducking for cover......

Okay, for the record, I should say that I, too, am very pro-life, anti-abortion.

Brenda, I see your point. We did use fertility to get pregnant with Emily, and I have given that a lot of thought. My faith six years ago was not what it is today. However, when I was going through all of that, I did spend a lot of time in prayer--not necessarily praying to get pregnant, but asking that God's will be done in our lives in regard to getting pregnant. With every added fertility step, we would initially say no. We would continue to pray for guidance, and a new door would open for us fertility-wise, or our hearts would change. I prayed for God to give me a baby if that was HIS will for our lives. I struggled a lot with doing fertility--whether it was wrong or not, and one of my spiritual mentors and I spent a lot of time in prayer over it. The conclusion I have come to is that I don't believe Kyle and I did anything wrong by having fertility treatments because God did decide if we had Emily or not. Fertility treatments, no matter how advanced or expensive do not gaurantee pregnancy. Regardless of the treatments I had, I believe God created her. He hand was in it all. (Think of it like cancer treatments, a patient can have great treatment and still die because ultimately the decision is in God's hands. We can only do our part--as we do have our part and God has His.) If I am wrong, then I will answer for it one day.
The difference I see in fertility treatments and the procedure described in the article is that fertility treatments help a person to possibly get pregnant with a baby. The procedure under debate is more than just helping someone get possibly pregnant, it's manipulating an aspect of that human's development or taking control of that person's creation/make-up. It's giving 100% assurance that this one aspect of this person's creation is what the parents want it to be.
I am not saying it wouldn't be great to be able to have that assurance that our children would be born free of an inherited disease, but I don't believe this procedure is okay. I also have a HUGE issue with the embryos being destroyed. As I said earlier, I am prolife, which should explain my feelings about what happens with the embryos.
And I have to wonder, where do we draw the line if we start doing this? What about parents that want smart or attractive children? Yes, I understand that not having a disease is immeasurably more valuable than being pretty, but other people don't see that--my BIL for instance would pick the superficial any day. So it also begs the question, where and how is the line drawn? And you know, there are doctors/researchers out there that would find a way to do just about anything for the almighty dollar.

I'm certain that some of you recall that I have had an abortion. I'm not proud of it but I don't deny it and I don't consider myself less of a Christian because of it. Birth control failed me... I was in a desperate situation and I made a desperate decision. Do I believe it was sinful in God's eyes... Yes. Thankfully, I know that I am forgiven.

I am prochoice because I have been there... I am prochoice because I strongly believe that what one person does is between them and God and not for the public to decide.
I am against this, because it is a decision made before life even exists that God's way isn't good enough... that we are taking it into our own hands and we will create and destroy until we have it down to a science... until we are doing a better job than God.

Well said, Elaine! You are obviously much more articulate than I am in the mornings!
And yes, you are right about the choices we make being between us and God, which is how I feel about having gone through fertility. And yes, thanks to God's wonderful grace, you are forgiven, which means I certainly have no right to condemn you, and I don't.
Okay, sorry, back to the topic now!