Build a Better Baby?
The Issue
Top fertility clinics in the United Federation — an ultra-capitalist nation that you nonetheless have historically amicable relations with — have recently announced a new service allowing parents to create so-called ‘designer babies’. This is something that is not currently offered by state-administered hospitals in Furry Things.
The Debate
- “I honestly don’t see what the big deal is,” says Ambassador Fatima Giono, proudly showing you the ultrasound image of the designer pregnancy she purchased while posted to the United Federation. “I simply made sure that the little comrade will have the very best genetic make up that my partner and I could offer. That should be the right of every couple in our proud nation — boost the health budget so that everyone can choose to have the perfect baby!”
- “This technology stands as a testament to the deep-seated moral corruption of the United Federation’s ruling class,” opines Stan Mombota, a senior member of the Party Committee on Ethics. “Notice how it effectively annihilates anyone who doesn’t conform to the capitalist ideal of optimally profitable workers? And who are we to say that the discarded embryos do not deserve an equal opportunity to be born and to flourish? Embryonic screening should be outlawed, and anyone who travels abroad to undergo these procedures should be duly prosecuted.
- “Optimal workers, you say?” inquires Ash Huxley, your minister of health. “That raises an intriguing idea: what if, rather than making genetic profiling freely available to all parents, we made it mandatory? Imagine, we could have a whole new generation of genetically-engineered workers that are ultra-productive and inclined to obedience to the state, with an enhanced ability to contribute to the greater good of Furry Things!”
Options are numbered 0, 1, 2.