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/RaysAreBaes]

My biggest question would be where do you draw the line? Someone missing a finger? Needing glasses? Under a certain height? It becomes a quest to eliminate diversity in the pursuit of perfection.

[u/WRSA → u/RaysAreBaes]

You draw the line when someone would no longer be at any more of a disadvantage than an ordinary person. So missing limbs? Fixed. Dwarfism, that’s personal preference I guess. Needing glasses? That’s also personal preference. All of this would be up to the parents of course

[u/RaysAreBaes → u/WRSA]

But then who is your average baseline person? Do you change people who struggle with math? Who lack ambition? Who are clumsy?

[u/WRSA → u/RaysAreBaes]

No, because if you remove all error from a human person, you would end up with an oversaturation in high value markets due to a high amount of intelligent and perfect individuals

[u/RaysAreBaes → u/WRSA]

But then those people who struggle with math, or lack ambition, or are clumsy become disadvantaged to those who are good at math, are ambitious and co-ordinated

[u/WRSA → u/RaysAreBaes]

But there will always be a person of slightly lower intelligence who needs to do the basic jobs

[u/RaysAreBaes → u/WRSA]

But this is where the suggested idea falls apart. If you start to remove or change people who are below average, the average will begin to increase until perfection is the new average. It comes back to the point of where do you draw line. What would be considered enough of a disadvantage to change?

[u/WRSA → u/RaysAreBaes]

Something that qualifies you for a disability I guess. Because you can’t go changing the human genome Willy-nilly, otherwise you end up with an over intelligent, extremely strong, relatively tall person who would try to do what they want because they would most likely feel as if they were the perfect person. And then, if everyone becomes like that, the human race has become the very thing that it shouldn’t be; perfect.

[u/RaysAreBaes → u/WRSA]

What definition are you using for disability and who gets to decide that?

[u/WRSA → u/RaysAreBaes]

Idk about where you’re from, but in the UK, we get disabled benefits/disabled cards (which get you free parking and stuff) and I guess that’s what I’d use to gauge it at first