Should human reproduction be selectively chosen?

Question

Would it be effective against population problems and disease?

Answer 1

No. I wish people would make better choices regarding reproduction. That would curb abuse, neglect and homeless children. AKA The Project to Eliminate Stupid People from Breeding.

Answer 2

This would be a serious mistake, even barring the ethical issues. To do that assumes that you understand exactly how nature works, and I can assure you that we dont know that much ! There are many many examples in evolution of traits that were a disavantage for population at one time and became an advantage at another place and time. We simply cannot predict the future !

I know that for example cistic fibrosis can hardly be seen as an advantage, but where would we stop ? Do we strive to eliminate myopy also because we dont like people with glasses ? What other traits could we eliminate in this way ? We dont know. This would be a very dangerous course to take for any society. It would mean eliminating diversity from our genome. You can see the consequences of that in agriculture, where cows, chicken and pigs have been selected upon generations by humans, with the consequence that none of them could now thrive in the wilderness.

If you ask me, reproduction should stay random. The taboos about incest in most societies is enough to control inbreeding, and the diseases that will come with it.

Answer 3

Personally, i dont think human reproduction should be selective. I say this because if everybody chose their children there would probably be a lack of variety. This is because most people would try to 'create' a child with only good attributes or characteristics that are mainly accepted by the society.
In addition to this, i dont believe that it would curb any diseases or solve any population problem because if they are truly 'human' they will also be subject to infection by viruses or disease.
So overall, i do not agree with the notion of selectively choosing human beings.