Abstract

In the engaging and thought-provoking book The Gene Machine: How Genetic Technologies Are Changing the Way We Have Kids and the Kids We Have, Bonnie Rochman addresses the question of choice in human reproduction through the lens of knowledge. Asserting that the desire for knowledge is the central theme of modern-day reproduction, she asks, “Is genetic knowledge empowering or fear-inducing or both?” Yet the question at the heart of the book goes beyond knowledge. Rochman delves into whether genetic information is actionable and then examines the corollary question of whether individuals should make decisions based on this data. Do parents want to choose the kinds of kids they have? Certainly, most parents would do what they could to prevent their child from having a painful, life-limiting disease. But that is the extreme. And while genetic technologies generally start by targeting the extreme, the inevitable byproduct is the ability to know about and affect the fringe. It is at the borders that the critical questions lie. Taking advantage of reproductive choices has potentially life-altering and permanent consequences not only for the chooser but also for the resulting child, the family unit, and society.