Sachdev Vorathep
The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Asian Bioeth Rev. 2021 Oct 8;14(2):169-182. doi: 10.1007/s41649-021-00193-z. eCollection 2022 Apr.
Bioethicists and philosophers dominate the on-going debate on human enhancement. They have debated the definition of human enhancement as well as the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies (such as pharmaceutical enhancements or pre-natal selection). These discussions have percolated, through bioethics bodies and bioethics recommendations, policy makers and have eventually been translated into policy. While some suggestions have been based largely in Western liberal democracies, others have deliberated the geopolitical consequences of human enhancement technologies. This paper argues that the present debate currently lacks perspectives from developing countries. It begins by introducing the current debate on human enhancement and recognizes Allen Buchanan's well-raised concerns on how these technologies may potentially cause new injustices for low- and middle-income countries ('developing countries'). It then provides two arguments calling for further research into human enhancement from the perspective of developing countries. First, this paper will argue that the current frames with which enhancement technologies are viewed are inherently neoliberal and require change. The second argument shows how the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies in developing countries have not been fully realized by analyzing how human enhancement technologies will impact Thailand, a developing country.
生物伦理学家和哲学家主导着正在进行的关于人类增强的辩论。他们辩论了人类增强的定义以及人类增强技术（如药物增强或产前选择）的潜在影响。这些讨论通过生物伦理机构和生物伦理建议渗透到政策制定者中，并最终转化为政策。虽然一些建议主要基于西方自由民主国家，但其他建议则审议了人类增强技术的地缘政治后果。本文认为，目前的辩论目前缺乏来自发展中国家的观点。文章首先介绍了当前关于人类增强的辩论，并认识到艾伦·布坎南对这些技术可能如何给低收入和中等收入国家（“发展中国家”）带来新的不公正提出的合理担忧。然后提供了两个论点，呼吁从发展中国家的角度对人类增强进行进一步研究。首先，本文将论证，目前看待增强技术的框架本质上是新自由主义的，需要改变。第二个论点通过分析人类增强技术将如何影响发展中国家泰国，展示了人类增强技术在发展中国家的潜在影响尚未得到充分认识。
