CEPDISC - Centre for the Experimental-Philosophical Study of Discrimination, Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus, Denmark.
Monash Bioeth Rev. 2023 Dec;41(2):124-135. doi: 10.1007/s40592-023-00177-9. Epub 2023 Jun 26.
Is it wrong to create a blind child, for example by in vitro fertilization, if you could create a sighted child instead? Intuitively many people believe it is wrong, but this belief is difficult to justify. When there is a possibility to create and select either 'blind' or 'sighted' embryos choosing a set of 'blind' embryos seems to harm no-one since choosing 'sighted' embryos would create a different child altogether. So when the parents choose 'blind' embryos, they give some specific individual a life that is the only option for her. Because her life is worth living (as blind peoples' lives are), the parents have not wronged the child by creating her. This is the reasoning behind the famous non-identity problem. I suggest that the non-identity problem is based on a misunderstanding. I claim that when choosing a 'blind' embryo, prospective parents harm 'their child', whoever she or he will be. Put another way: parents harm their child in the de dicto sense and that is morally wrong.
例如，通过体外受精来创造一个盲童，如果可以选择创造一个视力正常的孩子，这样做是否错误？许多人直觉上认为这是错误的，但这种信念很难证明是合理的。如果有可能创造和选择“盲”或“视”胚胎，那么选择一组“盲”胚胎似乎不会伤害任何人，因为选择“视”胚胎将创造出一个完全不同的孩子。因此，当父母选择“盲”胚胎时，他们给了某个特定的个体一个唯一的生命选择。因为她的生命是有价值的（就像盲人的生命一样），所以父母通过创造她并没有冤枉孩子。这就是著名的非同一性问题的推理。我认为非同一性问题是基于一种误解。我主张，当选择“盲”胚胎时，准父母会伤害“他们的孩子”，无论她或他是谁。换句话说：父母在直陈意义上伤害了他们的孩子，这在道德上是错误的。
