360 RüdigerKunow
Wilson'scommenttestifiestowhatIwouldliketocallthedialectics
ofgeneticediting^55 inwhichthefreedomofchoiceproducesinakindof
reversal new coercion, as avoiding disability before the fact in order to
reducedependencyandhumansuffering(Berger214).^56 If,forexample,
the other children in your daughter's class do receive memory
enhancementorotherstimulantdrugs(Kass16),thenwithholdingthese
fromyourchildmayfeellikeriskingyourchild'sfuture.Thisscenario—
emblematic of enhancement's horizontal dimension mentioned above—
hasrecentlybeentakenupbycellbiologistPaulKnoepfler(UCDavis).
"What if your neighbors' kid was genetically modified?" is the
provocativequestionheaskedinapublicpresentation,fittinglyornotso
fittingly, on Halloween 2015. People might give different answers to
this "what if," but Knoepfler's answer points to the social and cultural
consequencesofgenetictestingandediting.Hetellsthe(fictional)story
of Jenna, the "GM Kid" (GM for genetically modified). Jenna is an
enhanced designer child who has, during the first five years of her life,
already received multiple "upgrades" to the price tag of millions of
dollars. She is beautiful and intelligent and her presence is deeply
frustrating to Marian, a "normal child," and her parents who are Jenna
and her family's next-door neighbors. Jenna is perfect in physical terms
but psychologically a problem case. Her enhanced body sets her apart;
she has no friends and tries to overcome her frustration by acts of
aggression(Knoepflern.pag.).
Such a scenario is no longer mere "science fiction" but may, as
Knoepfler argues, become reality about 15 years from now. "CRISPR"
(Clusteredregularly-interspacedshortpalindromicrepeats)maybringus
there. CRISPR—another term based on the presumed analogy between
lifeandtext—hasbeenhailedbyscientistsasa"gamechanginggenetic
engineering technology" (Pak n. pag.), which facilitates genetic
(^55) Another dialectics manifesting itself here is that of women's reproductive
freedomcurtailingtherighttolifeofchildrenbornwithanimpairment.
(^56) In this context it is noteworthy that much genetic engineering research is
legitimated, or legitimating itself, by holding out promises to find cures for
genetic diseases, many of them extremely rare. Cf. Holloway 83; also "About
GARD."National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. Genetic and
Rare Diseases Information Center.U.S. Department of Health & Human
Services,2017.Web.30June2017.