Wondergenes: Genetic Enhancement and the Future of Society

Wondergenes not only imagines a future world in which genetic enhancement is the norm, but asserts that this future has already begun. Genetically engineered substances are already in use by athletes, in vitro fertilization already provides the primitive means by which parents can "select" an embryo, and the ability to create new forms of genetically engineered human beings is not far off. What happens when gene therapy becomes gene enhancement? Who will benefit and who might be left behind? What are the costs to our values and beliefs, and to the future of our society? To answer these questions, Maxwell J. Mehlman provides an overview of the scientific advances that have led to the present state of genetic enhancement and explains how these advances will be used in the future to redefine what we think of as a normal human being. He explores the ethical dilemmas already facing researchers and medical practitioners, and the dilemmas we will all be expected to face. In his forecast of the dangers inherent in this technology, he is particularly concerned with the emergence of a "genobility" made up of those able to afford increasingly expensive enhancement.

Wondergenes is a serious, accessible introduction to the social and personal implications of genetic engineering. Mehlman weighs the social and economic costs of the many proposals to regulate or limit genetic engineering and provides six concrete policy recommendations--from professional licensing to a ban on germ-line enhancement--that propose to make the future of genetic enhancement more equitable and safe.

"Wondergenes is a spirited and lively guide to the promises and perils of genetic enhancement. Well--grounded in the science, [the book] poses the central ethical questions posed by enhancement, explains the legal context, and offers intriguing suggestions for law and public policy." --Thomas H. Murray, President, The Hastings Center Indiana University Press

"Mehlman deftly explores this powerfully seductive and socially destabilizing biotechnology, and authoritatively suggests legal steps we humans must take to regulate it if we are to have any real chance to garner its benefits and avoid its species--wide destructive potential. --George J. Annas, author of The Rights of Patients and c" --founder of Global Lawyers and Physicians Indiana University Press

"Wondergenes is Maxwell Mehlman's wake--up call to a world that hasn't quite figured out that our genetic future is here.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [201]-216) and index.

Maxwell J. Mehlman is Arthur E. Petersilge Professor of Law and Director of the Law-Medicine Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and Professor of Biomedical Ethics at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is co-author of Access to the Genome: The Challenge to Equality and co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Ethical, Legal and Policy Issues in Biotechnology. He lives in Cleveland, Ohio.

Preliminary Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. An Announcement at the White House

2. Scientific Foundations

3. Four Revolutions

4. The Fifth Revolution

5. Safety and Effectiveness

6. Autonomy

7. Authenticity

8. Access

9. Inequality and Unfairness

10. Hubris

11. Solutions

12. Better Solutions

13. Spotting Enhancement

14. Conclusion

Notes

Index