Between Ethics of Giftedness and ‘The Principle of Procreative Beneficence (Pb)’ in Human Enhancement
Between Ethics of Giftedness and ‘The Principle of Procreative Beneficence (Pb)’ in Human Enhancement

Summary/Abstract: In the debate over whether or not human beings should be enhanced through reproductive technology, two prominent but contrasting principles have been identified. Enhancement involves taking human beings beyond their existing level of health, capacity (cognitive and otherwise), or performance, especially at the prenatal stage, through the emergent technologies. In this paper, we explore the two principles in the debate- the ethics of giftedness and the ‘principle of procreative beneficence.’ While the ethic of giftedness opposes enhancement, the ‘principle of procreative beneficence’ argues for and promotes enhancement as an ideal. We aim to argue for the moral superiority of the principle of procreative beneficence over the ethic of giftedness. Our argument is anchored on parental love, parental responsibility, and control. The paper concludes that the choice of parents to enhance their child(ren) is not just a matter of love, responsibility, and control but a matter of innate duty to choose the best child available.

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