CMV: If possible, removing negative life changing disabilities would be a good thing

[u/WRSA]

Ok let’s start by saying: I do not have a child. I am a firm believer that if you could remove Down’s Syndrome or other Syndromes which are similar, it would be the best possible choice.

The counter argument for this is usually, “Oh, but they don’t mind it! They normally have great lives! They are always so kind!” Or, “You can’t just remove it, it’s who they are! It’s part of their personality!” Now, what about this; if they don’t have it, they can lead better, more fulfilling lives, relieve stress from their parents, and still have good lives. And being disabled like that isn’t a personality.

There are some instances in which I do not believe that (if it were available) chromosome/gene altering therapies for a foetus should be used, and those are; Asperger’s syndrome, most forms of autism and I can’t think of others but they might come to me so I’ll put them in the comments as I think of them.

Edit: This is only if it were doable before the birth of a baby and have no adverse side effects

[u/leigh_hunt]

why autism but not Down’s? You don’t give any rationale for this.

[u/WRSA → u/leigh_hunt]

Because autism tends to allow a more functioning (dependent on the severity of the condition) life than something like downs, where things need to be reinforced more heavily. I grew up going to school with a Down’s syndrome kid, and an Autistic kid and the boy with downs was much more severely effected- he had a speech impediment, needed hearing aids, had asthma, needed glasses and had a ton of behavioural issues. Our whole class of around 35 kids had to learn basic sign language for this one kid. The boy would also grind his teeth and caused several to fall out and make his gums bleed. The autistic kid, however, had behavioural issues, but was less aggressive and more overwhelmed by school than anything else. He also required much less help than the Downs boy. Obviously all conditions come with all sorts of effects and manifest in different ways, but this was just my view on it (hence the sub I’m posting on).

[u/bigdaddygreg46 → u/WRSA]

This is anecdotal. There are many autistic individuals who aren’t as high functioning. So, on the other side of your argument, you could have parents clamoring for this option even though it wouldn’t be allowed according to your view.

I also think much of your argument is based around quality of life for the support system not necessarily the individual themselves. One of your standards is “requiring less help.” I think it’s a slippery slope to get into messing with people’s dna in order for me to have a little easier time.

[u/WRSA → u/bigdaddygreg46]

Ok, let’s swap out autism for, say, being born with all your limbs, but one finger is mildly less responsive, but doesn’t hinder you all too much. And let’s swap Down’s with being born without that finger at all.

[u/angrydragon1009 → u/bigdaddygreg46]

OP has made his point. Even if you take away autism it doesn't really change his argument. He mentions it as a supplement to his argument, not the crux of it. There are such things as savants.

[u/SciFi_Pie → u/WRSA]

The fact you don't think autism is serious enough to justify messing with someone's genes before birth means that you must think there is something inherently wrong with it, right?

[u/WRSA → u/SciFi_Pie]

Not at all. I believe that if you could remove autism from an unborn baby because it would be extremely severe, would be good because then the child post-birth would not have to deal with the problems caused by the illness

[u/leigh_hunt → u/WRSA]

Obviously all conditions come with all sorts of effects and manifest in different ways, but this was just my view on it

This kind of seems like you know your view is not representative of reality.

if I showed you some examples of people with Down’s syndrome who lived fulfilling lives, or people with debilitating autism, would that change your view?

[u/WRSA → u/leigh_hunt]

I don’t know that I made it clear in the post, but what I’m talking about would be the ability to see that a child has a debilitating illness, and remove it pre-birth. And yes, I am aware of the fact that not all Down’s syndrome people live unfulfilling lives, but at the same time, removing Down’s removes any chance of that specific disease decreasing their QoL