Thanks for your response. You write:
> Because there is no gene for prostitution, “hereditary pauperism” or “feeble-mindedness”. And the studies (e.g., Jukes) were fraudulent.
Okay, but if it works for dogs, why not people? If I want a female German Shepherd who is good with children, overtly affectionate, agile, medium-sized, good around guns and loud noises, strong bite and obedient, I can go to a breeder and have that precise dog produced. I know that for a fact, because I did exactly that, and she’s licking my face right now...
There are no genes for any of those attributes that I know of. But a breeder can select a male with a bloodline that produces some of these characteristics, and a female whose bloodline supplies the rest, cross the two and bingo! There is the dog, custom-built to order.
So why not people? And why would that be undesirable?
1) If we design animals and develop a better horse, that has little ethical relevance for mankind. But if we manipulate human genes and develop "better people" then we have given ourselves the role of Creator (which we should not) and we would be making people, not in God's image, but in an image that seems pleasing to us. From a Christian standpoint, this is not good for us to do.
2) Historically, eugenics has tended to involve a lot of coercion. Retarded relative? Well, someone will grab her, drive her across town, sterilize her and bring her back home. Don't ask questions, unless you want trouble. Or, if some people (like the Jooooos) are classified as sub-human, then we load them on trains, take them to special camps, and kill them. Great way to improve overall genetic health of the human race.
No. I would say that from an ethical standpoint, this idea reduces us to the level of mere animals (better horses = better humans) and in addition, the implementation of the idea reduces us to the level of devils.
This is not for humans to do.
Because people are not dogs.
If I want a female German Shepherd who is good with children, overtly affectionate, agile, medium-sized, good around guns and loud noises, strong bite and obedient, I can go to a breeder and have that precise dog produced. I know that for a fact, because I did exactly that, and she’s licking my face right now... So why not people? And why would that be undesirable?
To answer the question of why it would be undesirable, consider who would be the dog-people, and who would be the dog-people buyers who go to the dog-people breeder to get the precise dog-person they want. And who would be the dog-people breeders, in this scenario?
If someone wants to choose a mate on that criteria, in such an analytical way, that certainly is their choice.
It should NOT under any circumstances, be forced on us by the government or any other elitist, we-know-what’s-good-for-you-even-if-you-don’t group.
Because people are not animals nor a commodity.
God created plants for their simplicity…
He created animals for their innocence…
He created man for his intellect.
God said to “Be fruitful and multiply… subdue the Earth,” and he gave man dominion over every lower creature.
Animals are living creatures, having the spirit of life breathed into them, they are not eternal creatures possessing a soul; but human beings are not animals. Every human individual is created in God’s image, meaning each possesses free will, an intellect, and an eternal soul. We are more than flesh and blood having a spirit of life breathed into our nostrils by God, Our Father in Heaven. Man is destined for eternity, and, if we accept the grace of Christ, we become adopted sons of God, and thus heirs to His eternal Kingdom.
What God creates, he creates for a divine purpose, which He alone knows. Humans procreate, but do so only by God’s command and His authority. Man merely cooperates in the procreative act. It is God who fashions the human soul at the moment of conception, and who knits together the bone and sinew within our mother’s womb: “Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 (Catholic Douay Rheimes Bible)
For this reason, all genetic tampering, manipulation, and other such techniques of human “breeding” are intrinsically evil, and thus immoral in practice, whatsoever.