Embryos are already inspected visually to select the one that is least likely to result in a miscarriage, and as noted in some cases preimplantation genetic testing is performed to check for a few genetic illnesses. The next technology that will come down the pipeline, according to Metzl, is iterated embryo selection. Initially it was demonized, but public acceptance of it rapidly changed over the course of only a few years. In-vitro fertilization provides an interesting case study of how public opinion can shift. But history also shows that acceptance of a radical new idea or technology can be remarkably fast notwithstanding.
History shows us that any radical technology or new idea naturally experiences widespread pushback.
It seems that the queeziness people feel, which they label as due to “un-naturalness” is actually just due to unfamiliarity, which naturally invokes anxiety. He points out that many things that seem natural are actually very “unnatural” – for instance, if you went back a few thousand years, you wouldn’t find anything resembling today’s corn or bananas – they are human concoctions from centuries of selective breeding. Metzl points out that a better term is “unfamiliar”. One of the major objections to genetic engineering is that it is “unnatural”. The result was a great reduction in needless suffering, which is hard to argue against. Marriages between people who have tested positive for the disease were discouraged, and when they do occur, the couples tended to adopt rather than risk having a child born with the disease. Remarkably though, since the 1980s, the prevalence of the disease among Ashkenazi Jews has been very low, due to extensive genetic testing and family planning. About one in twenty seven Ashkenazi Jews carry the Tay-Sachs genes. Sadly, most die in agonizing pain by the age of five. By age 2, children with Tay-Sachs start to experience seizures and decline in mental functioning. Tay-Sachs is a genetic disorder which has devastating effects on the nervous system. A striking example Metzl discusses is the rapid decrease in Tay-Sachs disease in the Ashkenazi jewish community.
But “hacking Darwin” had already been occurring earlier due to genetic testing. This set the stage for preimplantation genetic testing, which became popular in the 1990s and widely used today. The first “test-tube baby” was born in 1978. The fact is, some people are already “hacking Darwin”. This book is an exploration of how we might genetically engineer our children, why we might want to do so, and what the consequences might be. Book review of “Hacking Darwin” by Jamie MetzlĢ020, 269 pgs, 309 pgs including footnotes.
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