Hofmann Bjørn
Bioethics. 2017 Sep;31(7):505-514. doi: 10.1111/bioe.12365. Epub 2017 Jun 14.
According to the expressivist argument the choice to use biotechnologies to prevent the birth of individuals with specific disabilities is an expression of disvalue for existing people with this disability. The argument has stirred a lively debate and has recently received renewed attention. This article starts with presenting the expressivist argument and its core elements. It then goes on to present and examine the counter-arguments before it addresses some aspects that have gained surprisingly little attention. The analysis demonstrates that the expressivist argument has a wide range of underpinnings and that counter-arguments tend to focus on only a few of these. It also reveals an important aspect that appears to have been ignored, i.e., that people do not select foetuses based on chromosomes or other biological traits, but based on characteristics of living persons with specific disabilities. This makes it more difficult to undermine the claim that negative selection of foetuses expresses a disvaluing of persons with such disabilities. It leaves the expressivist argument with a strong bite still.
根据表现主义者的观点，选择使用生物技术来防止患有特定残疾的个体出生，这是对现有此类残疾人士的一种负面评价。这一观点引发了一场激烈的辩论，最近又重新受到关注。本文首先阐述表现主义者的观点及其核心要素。接着呈现并审视反对观点，然后探讨一些令人惊讶地未得到充分关注的方面。分析表明，表现主义者的观点有广泛的支撑依据，而反对观点往往只关注其中的少数几点。分析还揭示了一个似乎被忽视的重要方面，即人们并非基于染色体或其他生物学特征来选择胎儿，而是基于患有特定残疾的活人所具有的特征。这使得反驳关于对胎儿进行负面选择表达了对这类残疾人士的负面评价这一说法变得更加困难。表现主义者的观点仍然具有很强的说服力。
