Neel J V
Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0618, USA.
Hum Hered. 2000 Jan-Feb;50(1):14-21. doi: 10.1159/000022887.
It is argued that at the population level there are three central genetic developments raising ethical issues. The first is the emergence of 'soft' eugenics, due primarily to the increasing ability to detect carriers of genetic diseases, to monitor their pregnancies, and to provide the option to abort a fetus predisposed to major genetic disease. The second development is the recognition of the extent to which many serious diseases of adult life are due to a disturbance of ancient genetic homeostatic mechanisms due to changing life style, raising the question of whether a society that increasingly pays the medical bills should attempt to impose healthier standards of living on its members. Such an attempt at 'euphenics' may be thought of as the antithesis to eugenics. The third development relates to recognition of the need to regulate the size of the earth's population to numbers that can be indefinitely sustained; this regulation in a fashion (isogenic) that will preserve existing genetic diversity.
有人认为，在人口层面上，有三个核心的遗传学发展引发了伦理问题。首先是“软”优生学的出现，这主要归因于检测遗传疾病携带者、监测其孕期以及提供终止患有重大遗传疾病胎儿妊娠选择的能力不断提高。第二个发展是认识到成年期的许多严重疾病在很大程度上是由于生活方式改变扰乱了古老的基因稳态机制，这就引发了一个问题：一个越来越多地支付医疗费用的社会是否应该试图强制其成员采用更健康的生活标准。这种“优境学”尝试可能被认为是优生学的对立面。第三个发展涉及认识到有必要将地球人口规模调节到可以无限期维持的数量；这种调节要以一种（同基因的）方式进行，以保护现有的遗传多样性。
