The Second Guideline

Guide reproduction wisely — improving fitness and diversity

Why it may be perceived negatively

This second guideline may well ring alarm bells for many people – conjuring up images of Nazi regimes and mad scientists trying to “play God.” However a critical difference must be noted here: the Nazis were interested in “ethnic cleansing” which would, in effect, reduce diversity. The guidelines advocate an increase in diversity along with the improvement of “fitness” or “health” of the gene pool. Despite this distinction, many people will still feel uneasy about the concept.

Why the issue should not be ignored

Since the origin of life, natural selection has ensured that only the healthiest and best-adapted genes are passed on to the next generation. This is still the case for most species on Earth. However human ingenuity and advances in medicine mean that many who would not otherwise have survived to reach childbearing age and reproduce are now able to do so – which is of course a good thing from most perspectives. However the downside of this is that the human race is gradually accumulating harmful mutations. It has not only stopped evolving positively, it is getting genetically weaker. This means increased health problems, reduced quality of life and increased medical expenses, as more and more people need continued medical treatment from very early in life. There is also potentially a decline in the average IQ of the human population, as it has been suggested that there is a negative correlation between fertility and intelligence.

What could be achieved?

By utilising now available technology such as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (embryo screening) for individuals who are either sufferers of or known carriers of certain genetic diseases it is possible to avoid such diseases being passed to the next generation. However in some cases where an individual is homozygous (carries two copies of the defective gene) it may be necessary to restrict reproduction or use donor eggs or sperm. A more controversial idea is that of setting certain criteria for reproduction (such as mental/physical health, ability to provide for offspring and so on) but I regret to say this is unlikely to catch on despite potential benefits for humankind. Nonetheless, if we make an effort to guide reproduction wisely, improving fitness and diversity, we can achieve a healthier population with better quality of life and less financial pressure on individuals and national health services.