Thanks for responding. I whole-heartedly agree. My dad also had some comments on it that I thought brought light to this situation from scripture. He wrote: "I know the psalms say that God fashions us in our mothers womb, no chance, no random, It is like the debate on Intelligent Design, if we are only creatures of evolving design why not help it along, but if we are engineered by a superior intelligence meddling could lead to negative, unforeseen change. Investigating without altering would be the wise posture when confronted by such handiwork and genetic Mcgivering a costly folly of our arrogance and blindness." Thanks for continuing the discussion!

Aside from the obvious problem fallen human nature would pose for the implementation of this new form of eugenics, many of the things listed in this article, such as physical characteristics or athletic ability, are really trivial measures of the worth of an individual. How does the desire to make our offspring look the way we want them to merit any serious consideration from those truly seeking to improve the lot of the human race? While attempting to eliminate disease is a noble idea, how does the author propose that all forms of gene manipulation be limited to the pursuit of that goal? I see no way to prevent evil men from using this new technology to sate their own lustful desire for power and control over the lives of the rest of humanity. Also, how many grotesque and tragic miscalculations will it take before any significant improvements in the health of future generations will be realized? Will initial attempts to produce future generations immune from disease result in offspring that suffer from some other fatal deficiency due to the limited knowledge and ability of the scientists in charge of the experiments? How will those entrusted to develop a better race of humans view their "creations?" Will their failures be regarded as creatures created in God's image or merely as unwanted and disposable products of human experimentation? I don't think we are ready to play God.

But on the bright side (he said, sarcastically), this could eventually solve the issue Gina raised about identity politics: http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/04/identity-politi.html Because eventually everyone would look the same, and a candidate's appearance would be a non-issue.